Demographic Aging in Captive Birds and Mammals

圈养鸟类和哺乳动物的人口老龄化

• 批准号: 6416139
• 负责人: ROBERT E. RICKLEFS
• 金额: $ 14.63万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-02-01 至 2005-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6416139
• 关键词: Aves; Chordata; Mammalia; aging; animal data; animal ecology; animal morbidity; animal mortality; animal old age; animal population study; gender difference; longevity; species difference

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project takes advantage of a unique data resource to characterize variation in rates of aging in captive populations of vertebrates (mammals, birds, and reptiles) in zoological institutions. We define rate of aging as the increase in mortality rate as a function of age, or actuarial senescence (AS). Previous analyses have shown that AS in both natural and captive populations of mammals and birds varies by nearly an order of magnitude and that mortality resulting from aging processes is generally similar in natural and zoo environments. This suggests that aging-related mortality results primarily from unique intrinsic causes of death (e.g., vascular disease, malignancies, autoimmune disease) rather than increasing vulnerability to extrinsic causes of mortality (predation, accident, contagious disease, weather-related starvation) owing to general deterioration of physiological function. Demographic patterns of aging will be compared by analyzing data in the International Species Information System (ISIS), which is the major international data base for zoological institutions. The data include age at death, reproductive history, and genealogy. We use the Weibull function to quantify actuarial senescence. Rate of AS for each species will be related to other aspects of life history, including sex, early experience (wild versus zoo born), body mass, brain mass, metabolic rate, development period, age at maturity, diet, and mortality rates in the wild. We shall additionally determine whether birds exhibit reproductive menopause and whether a trade-off exists between reproduction and aging. Ages at death will be compared among siblings and half-siblings to estimate its heritability. Medical records of zoos will be analyzed to determine how causes of death change with age. The ultimate goals of this study are to establish a comparative database for actuarial senescence in captive populations of vertebrates, to identify model organisms for further research on the physiology of aging, and to determine the feasibility of involving zoological institutions in collaborative, non-invasive research on aging.

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目利用了独特的优势 用于表征圈养动物衰老率变化的数据资源 动物学中的脊椎动物（哺乳动物、鸟类和爬行动物）种群 机构。我们将老龄化速度定义为死亡率的增加 年龄或精算衰老（AS）的函数。先前的分析表明 自然和圈养的哺乳动物和鸟类种群中的 AS 各不相同 几乎一个数量级，并且衰老过程导致的死亡率 在自然环境和动物园环境中通常相似。这表明 与衰老相关的死亡率主要是由独特的内在死亡原因造成的 （例如血管疾病、恶性肿瘤、自身免疫性疾病）而不是 越来越容易受到外在原因（捕食、事故、 传染病、与天气有关的饥饿）由于普遍恶化 的生理功能。人口老龄化模式将通过以下方式进行比较 分析国际物种信息系统 (ISIS) 中的数据，该系统 动物学机构的主要国际数据库。数据包括 死亡年龄、生育史和家谱。我们使用威布尔函数 量化精算衰老。每个物种的 AS 率都是相关的 生活史的其他方面，包括性、早期经历（野生与 动物园出生）、体重、脑质量、代谢率、发育期、年龄 野外的成熟度、饮食和死亡率。我们还将另外 确定鸟类是否表现出生殖更年期以及是否存在权衡 存在于生殖和衰老之间。死亡时的年龄将被比较 兄弟姐妹和同父异母的兄弟姐妹来估计其遗传力。医疗记录 将对动物园进行分析，以确定死亡原因如何随年龄变化。这 本研究的最终目标是建立一个比较数据库 圈养脊椎动物种群的精算衰老，以确定模型 生物体以进一步研究衰老的生理学，并确定 让动物机构参与协作、非侵入性的可行性 老龄化研究。