An extraordinary life span estimate for the clown anemonefish Amphiprion percula

Abstract

10 páginas, 1 figura, 2 tablas.A population of the clown anemonefish Amphiprion percula was studied for 1 year, in Madang Lagoon, Papua New Guinea. From this study, data on mortality events and social structure were used to construct a stage-structured matrix model and estimate the average age at death (life expectancy) of various classes of individuals. Based on this model, it is estimated that the life expectancy of female A. percula, the oldest individuals in the population, is 30 years. This estimate is two times greater than the longevity estimated for any other coral reef damselfish and six times greater than the longevity expected for a fish of that size. The result complements the growing body of evidence, from widespread taxa, that organisms subject to low levels of extrinsic mortality show retarded senescence and increased longevity. It is suggested that fishes would be an excellent group for a broad scale comparative test of the predictions of the evolutionary theory of ageing.Financial support for this project came from D. Christensen and the Christensen Fund; National Science Foundation, Dissertation Improvement Grant; Andrew W. Mellon Student Research Grant; Graduate Research Travel Grant, Cornell University; Cornell and National Chapters of Sigma Xi, Grants-in-Aid of Research; International Women’s Fishing Association, Scholarship; Percy Sladen Memorial Fund; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University. P.M.B. is currently funded by a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship, and M.B.G. is currently funded by grant CGL2006-08507/BOS, of the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Spain).Peer reviewe