Life history data for: High investment into reproduction is associated with reduced lifespan in dogs

Prominent differences in aging among and within species present an evolutionary puzzle. The theories proposed to explain evolutionary differences in aging are based on the axiom that selection maximizes fitness, not necessarily lifespan. This implies trade-offs between investment into self-maintenance and investment into reproduction, where high investment into growth and current reproduction are associated with short lifespans. Fast growth and large adult size are related with shorter lifespans in the domestic dog, a bourgeoning model in aging research, however, whether reproduction influences lifespan in this system remains unknown. Here we test the relationship between reproduction and differences in lifespan among dog breeds, controlling simultaneously for shared ancestry and recent gene flow. We found that shared ancestry explains a higher proportion of the among-breed variation in life history traits, in comparison with recent gene flow. Our results also show that reproductive inv...