Growing up & Growing old Development, resource allocation, telomeres and lifespan

Abstract:

When brood or litter size is increased, the fitness prospect of individual offspring declines. The future reproductive output also declines when brood/litter size is increased, a phenomenon known as the costs of reproduction. These two trade-offs are well documented, and central to our understanding of life-history evolution. However, we have very little knowledge of the mechanisms mediating these trade-offs, and this will be the topic of this talk. Questions that will be addressed include: Why do fledglings from larger broods survive less well? Do telomeres provide a link between development and ageing? What do we really know of the effect of resource allocation to somatic maintenance and repair on future reproductive output? Does growing up in poor conditions prepare an individual for living in a poor environment?

Brief CV:

Simon Verhulst is Professor of Behavioural Ecophysiology at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He did his PhD (1995) on life history evolution of Great Tits, and subsequently worked at the Universities of Bristol, Uppsala and Oxford. After settling in Groningen, his studies have gradually become more physiological, with a focus on energetics and mechanisms mediating life history trade-offs and senescence. Initial interest regarding mechanisms focused on ecological immunology, and more recently on telomeres and oxidative stress.