DOI: 10.5683/sp3/bgjvja
title: Data from: Senescence in duckweed: age-related declines in survival, reproduction, and offspring quality

description: &lt;b&gt;Abstract&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;1. As they grow old, most organisms experience progressive physiological deterioration resulting in declining rates of survival and reproduction – a seemingly maladaptive phenomenon known as senescence. 2. Although senescence is usually defined with respect only to survival and reproduction, a third component of fitness, offspring quality, may also decline with age. Few studies, however, have assessed age-related changes in offspring quality using measures that truly reflect fitness. 3. In a controlled environment, we tested for age-related declines in three demographic components of fitness (survival, reproduction, and offspring quality) in Lemna minor, a small aquatic plant in the subfamily Lemnoideae (the duckweeds) with a short lifespan and rapid rate of asexual reproduction. Our primary measure of offspring quality, the intrinsic rate of increase, more closely approximates fitness than measures used in previous studies such as size, lifespan, and total reproductive output. 4. We observed strong age-related declines in all three components of fitness: old plants had lower rates of survival and reproduction, and produced lower-quality offspring than younger plants. 5. Theoretical and empirical research on the evolutionary biology of senescence should devote more attention to offspring quality. This often unrecognized component of fitness may change with age – as we have shown in L. minor – and may be shaped by, and feed back into, the same evolutionary forces that give rise to senescence.
description: &lt;b&gt;Usage notes&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-usage-entry"&gt;&lt;h4 class="o-heading__level3-file-title"&gt;Survival and Reproduction vs. Age (Phase 1)&lt;/h4&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-description"&gt;Lifespans and reproduction schedules for the 214 fronds of Lemna minor from Phase 1 of our study.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-name"&gt;BarksAndLaird_RawData_Phase1.csv&lt;/br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-name"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-usage-entry"&gt;&lt;h4 class="o-heading__level3-file-title"&gt;Offspring Quality vs. Parental Age (Phase 2)&lt;/h4&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-description"&gt;Reproduction schedules and fitness measures for all of the offspring (n = 542) detached from 41 parental fronds of Lemna minor in Phase 2 of our study.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-name"&gt;BarksAndLaird_RawData_Phase2.csv&lt;/br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-usage-entry"&gt;&lt;h4 class="o-heading__level3-file-title"&gt;R Code for Phase 1&lt;/h4&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-description"&gt;R code for Phase 1 to analyze changes in rates of survival and reproduction with age.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-name"&gt;BarksAndLaird_RScripts_Phase1.txt&lt;/br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-usage-entry"&gt;&lt;h4 class="o-heading__level3-file-title"&gt;R Code for Phase 2&lt;/h4&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-description"&gt;R code for Phase 2 to analyze changes in offspring quality as a function of parental age.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-name"&gt;BarksAndLaird_RScripts_Phase2.txt&lt;/br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-usage-entry"&gt;&lt;h4 class="o-heading__level3-file-title"&gt;R Code for Graphics&lt;/h4&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-description"&gt;R code used to produce the figures in our paper.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="o-metadata__file-name"&gt;BarksAndLaird_RScripts_Plots.txt&lt;/br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
description: <b>Dryad version number:</b> 1
<b>Version status:</b> submitted
<b>Dryad curation status:</b> Published
<b>Sharing link:</b> http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.t938n
<b>Storage size:</b> 223372
<b>Visibility:</b> public