DOI: 10.5061/dryad.kwh70rz72
title: Correlation between body size and longevity: new analysis and data covering six taxonomic classes of vertebrates

description: Large-bodied species are known to live longer than small-bodied species.
 However, it is less clear whether the positive correlation varies across
 taxa. In this short communication, we combine data entries from literature
 and databases on body mass and maximum life span for 3722 species covering
 taxonomic Classes Chondrichthyes, Teleostei, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves, and
 Mammalia. We then analyze the log(maximum life span) – log(body mass)
 relationship using generalized linear model with nested random intercepts
 and slopes for Class/Order/Family. Our analyses generally demonstrate the
 positive longevity – body mass relationship but also reveal that slopes
 and intercepts differ slightly among all Classes except Reptilia and
 Amphibia. The highest slopes can be found in Classes Aves and
 Chondrichthyes. Differences between the smallest and largest Family-level
 slopes were more than threefold. While these preliminary analyses provide
 a brief overview of body size – longevity relationships across taxa, the
 dataset collated in the present study could serve as a starting point for
 in-depth phylogenetic analyses to uncover complex pathways through which
 body size and its correlates might have evolved.
description: Raw data on body masses and longevities for 6 Classes, 99 Order
 and 420 Family: data_final.txt intercepts and slopes
 for the body size - longevity relationship for 420 families:
 final_intercept_slope_original.txt R codes for the
 analyses and figures: code_analyses_figures.R
description: ## Correlation between body size and longevity: new analysis and data
 covering six taxonomic classes of vertebrates This dataset combines data
 entries from literature and databases on body mass and maximum life span
 for 3722 species covering taxonomic Classes Chondrichthyes, Teleostei,
 Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves, and Mammalia. We analyze the log(maximum life
 span) – log(body mass) relationship using generalized linear model with
 nested random intercepts and slopes for Class/Order/Family. The analyses
 generally demonstrate the positive longevity – body mass relationship but
 also reveal that slopes and intercepts differ slightly among almost all
 Classes. ## Description of data and file structure Raw data on body masses
 and longevities for 6 Classes, 99 Order and 420 Family: data\_final.txt
 Columns: * Phylum: Taxonomic phylum of the species * Class: Taxonomic
 class of the species * Order: Taxonomic order of the species * Family:
 Taxonomic family of the species * Genus: Taxonomic genus of the species *
 Species: species Latin name * Common Name: species common name *
 AdultMass: aduld body mass in g * MaxLife: maximum life span in yr *
 LMaxLife: natural log of AdultMass * LAdultMass: natural log of MaxLife
 Intercepts and slopes for the body size - longevity relationship for 420
 families derived from the above described analyses:
 final\_intercept\_slope\_original.txt Columns: * Family: Taxonomic family
 of the species * Order: Taxonomic order of the species * Class: Taxonomic
 class of the species * Intercept: intercept of the log(maximum life span)
 – log(body mass) regression * Slope: slope of the log(maximum life span) –
 log(body mass) regression ## Sharing/Access information Maximum lifespan
 and body mass data were extracted from the AnAge vertebrate database (de
 Magalhães & Costa, 2009), with additional mass entries
 supplemented from Mull et al. (2019), from the Fish Base (Froese &
 Pauly, 2022), Amniote (Myrhvold et al., 2015), and AmphiBio (Oliviera et
 al., 2017) databases, respectively. ### References * Froese, R. and Pauly,
 D., Eds. 2022. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication.
 www.fishbase.org * de Magalhães, J. and Costa, J. 2009. AnAge: A database
 of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history
 traits. J. Evol. Biol. 22(8):1770-1774. doi:
 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01783.x. * Mull, C., Yopak, K. and Dulvy, N.
 2019. Maternal Investment, Ecological Lifestyle and Brain Evolution in
 Sharks and Rays. The Am. Nat. 195(6):1056-1069. doi: 10.1086/708531. *
 Myrhvold, N., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D. and Ernest,
 S. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses
 with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology. 96(11): 3109.
 https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1 * Oliviera, B., São-Pedro, V.,
 Santos-Barrera, G., Penone, C. and Costa, G. 2017. AmphiBIO, a global
 database for amphibian ecological traits. Sci. Data. 4:170123.
 https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.123 ## Code/Software R (version 4.1.2)
 codes for the analyses and figures in the associated article:
 code\_analyses\_figures.R