«With our results of a negative relationship
between predation pressure and longevity that is largely independent of other key life history traits we were able to confirm the universality of the 50 year old evolutionary theory of aging on a broad geographical scale» concludes Mihai Valcu, first author of the study.
The inverse correlation
between the number of tool - using macaques, prey size and availability, suggests that
predation pressure may be the primary cause of shellfish body size and population on these islands.