title: A comparative perspective on longevity: the effect of body size dominates over ecology in moths.
abstract: Both physiologically and ecologically based explanations have been proposed to account for among-species differences in lifespan, but they remain poorly tested. Phylogenetically explicit comparative analyses are still scarce and those that exist are biased towards homoeothermic vertebrates. Insect studies can significantly contribute as lifespan can feasibly be measured in a high number of species, and the selective forces that have shaped it may differ largely between species and from those acting on larger animals. We recorded adult lifespan in 98 species of geometrid moths. Phylogenetic comparative analyses were applied to study variation in species-specific values of lifespan and to reveal its ecological and life-history correlates. Among-species and between-gender differences in lifespan were found to be notably limited; there was also no evidence of phylogenetic signal in this trait. Larger moth species were found to live longer, with this result supporting a physiological rather than ecological explanation of this relationship. Species-specific lifespan values could not be explained by traits such as reproductive season and larval diet breadth, strengthening the evidence for the dominance of physiological determinants of longevity over ecological ones.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Holm
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Javoiš
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.|Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Õunap
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaasik
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.|Vanasiri Evolutionary Ecology Group, School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.|Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Molleman
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tammaru
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D004463:Ecology; D007814:Larva; D008136:Longevity; D009036:Moths; D010802:Phylogeny
keywords: Geometridae; Lepidoptera; ageing; allometry; body size; capital breeding; lifespan; metabolic rate; phylogenetic comparative method; polyphagy