It has long been thought that animals that ‘live slowly’, having a slow rate of metabolism, live longer than those that live their lives at a fast rate: having high metabolic rates. The notion is based on the assumption that animals with fast metabolic rates are more active, more exposed to predators, have higher rates of potentially harmful somatic mutations and produce more harmful metabolic by products such as free radicals. This tradeoff between metabolism and lifespan is commonly referred to as the ‘rate-of-living’ theory.
In a recent publication in the Journal Global Ecology and biogeography, we (Gavin Stark; Daniel Pincheira donoso and Shai Meiri) showed that the assumption under the “rate of living” theory which have been around for almost a century is unsupported by the results of our largest scale study (4,100 land vertebrate species: 2,214 endotherms & 1,886 ectotherms) to date of this theory. We could not find any connection between animal metabolic rate and longevity, either when we tested all land vertebrates (i.e. Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians) or when we tested each group separately. In contrast, we did find other factor that did affect the lifespan of ectotherms (Reptiles and Amphibians), and it is ambient temperature. In colder regions around the world we expect species of reptiles and amphibians to live longer than other ectotherms living in warmer environments. The link between ectothermic (amphibians and reptiles) lifespan and ambient temperatures could mean that they are especially vulnerable to the unprecedented global warming that the planet is currently experiencing. Indeed, if increasing ambient temperatures reduces longevity, it may make ectothermic species more prone to go extinct as the climate warms. Our findings add a previously overlooked layer to the range of factors that are commonly thought to imperil species in the Anthropocene.

Author: Gavin Stark

In a recent publication in the Israel journal of ecology and evolution, we (Gavin Stark, Rachel Schwarz and Shai Meiri) showed that nocturnality does not prolong lifespan among the within gekkotan species. Species from the infraorder Gekkota are known to be predominately nocturnal as opposed to other lizard clades. Diurnal lizards demonstrate higher metabolic rates than nocturnal ones. Moreover, exposure to solar radiation is thought to reduce ectothermic longevity by increasing both metabolic costs and the rate of accumulating harmful mutations through UV radiation. Thus, we assume that by being nocturnal, ectothermic species may reduce their intrinsic mortality rates and thus live longer. We compared groups of nocturnal and diurnal species across all gekkotan families, and also compared all non-gekkotan species to geckos (740 lizard species, of which 185 are geckos) to test whether nocturnality select for longer lifespans. We found that geckos live relatively long for lizards of their size, however their activity time was found to be unrelated to longevity, contradicting our predictions. We suggest that mortality through extrinsic causes (e.g., predation) may impose much stronger selective pressures than intrinsic causes.

Author: Gavin Stark

In a recent publication in Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, we present a comparative analysis exploring patterns and drivers of longevity of 1320 reptile species, spanning all orders.
In recent years, there have been many studies focusing on the effect of different ecological variables and life-history traits on the variation in longevity of specific taxonomic groups, focusing mostly on birds and mammals (with the only large- scale ectothermic study done on squamates by Scharf et al. 2015). In order to expand our knowledge on the effect of environmental and life-history variables on the variation in longevity of animals, we tested the effect of ecological variables (through various hypotheses) related to extrinsic mortality (e.g. predation) on the variation in longevity among and within lizards, snakes, turtles and crocodiles. We found that species living on islands, and in colder and more seasonal environments, live longer. Moreover, sampling more individuals increases the chances of finding older specimens, and should be corrected for when studying maximum longevity.

We hope these analyses will enable us to better understand the drivers of longevity in reptiles (and other taxa). We hope this paper will facilitate more large-scale comparative studies on the causes of the variation in longevity of tetrapods in general.

Author: Gavin Stark