3 research outputs found
Longevity and life history coevolve with oxidative stress in birds.
The mechanisms that underpin the evolution of ageing and life histories remain elusive. Oxidative stress, which results in accumulated cellular damages, is one of the mechanisms suggested to play a role. In this paper, we set out to test the âoxidative stress theory of ageingâ and the âoxidative stress hypothesis of life historiesâ using a comprehensive phylogenetic comparison based on an unprecedented dataset of oxidative physiology in 88 freeâliving bird species. We show for the first time that bird species with longer lifespan have higher nonâenzymatic antioxidant capacity and suffer less oxidative damage to their lipids. We also found that bird species featuring a faster paceâofâlife either have lower nonâenzymatic antioxidant capacity or are exposed to higher levels of oxidative damage, while adult annual mortality does not relate to oxidative state. These results reinforce the role of oxidative stress in the evolution of lifespan and also corroborate the role of oxidative state in the evolution of life histories among freeâliving birds