title: A critical look at proximate causes of social insect senescence: damage accumulation or hyperfunction?
abstract: Social insects have received attention for their extreme lifespan variation and reversal of the fecundity/longevity trade-off. However, proximate causes of senescence in general are disputed, and social insects often fail to meet the predictions of prevailing models. We present evidence for and against the long-held free radical theory of aging in social insects, and consider the application of the competing hyperfunction theory. Current results present problems for both theories, and a more complex picture of the biological processes involved emerges. The eusocial life style might allow colonies to allocate damage in ways that create seemingly senescence-free life histories. Only experimental approaches characterizing multiple senescence factors simultaneously will shed light on how social insects defy the conventions of senescence.
authors.affiliation: University of Freiburg, Biology I, Evolution & Ecology, Hauptstraße 1, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Verges
authors.affiliation: University of Freiburg, Biology I, Evolution & Ecology, Hauptstraße 1, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany. Electronic address: volker.nehring@biologie.uni-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nehring
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005298:Fertility; D007313:Insecta / Q000502:physiology*; D008136:Longevity