2006/02/16 by Josh Mitteldorf, Mitteldorf, Josh
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #FOS: Biological sciences #Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms #Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE) #q-bio.PE
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.q-bio/0602020
9 pages, 7 figures An updated version using a variant of this model published in Evol Ecol Res 8:1-14 (2006)
arxiv created 2006/02/16 · openalex publication_date 2006/02/16 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Existing theories for the evolution of aging and death treat senescence as a side-effect of strong selection for fertility. These theories are well-developed mathematically, but fit poorly with emerging experimental data. The data suggest that aging is an adaptation, selected for its own sake. But aging contributes only negatively to fitness of the individual. What kind of selection model would permit aging to emerge as a population-level adaptation? I explore the thesis that population dynamics is inherently chaotic, and that aging is selected for its role in smoothing demographic fluctuations. The logistic equation provides a natural vehicle for this model because it has played a central role in two sciences: Population growth in a resource-limited niche has long been modeled by the differential LE; and, as a difference equation, the LE is a canonical example of the emergence of chaos. Suppose that feedback about depleted resources generally arrives too late to avoid a wave of unsupportable population growth; then logistic population dynamics is subject to chaotic fluctuations. It is my thesis that aging is an evolutionary adaptation selected for its stabilizing effect on chaotic population dynamics.