Natural selection should favor organisms with longer lifespans—or so one might think. In reality, there is a diversity of lifespans in nature. Using various, sometimes extreme, examples from the animal kingdom, evolutionary biologist Prof. Dr. Hanna Kokko from the University of Mainz will demonstrate at this year's Bernhard Rensch Lecture of the Department of Biology that even a short lifespan can represent an evolutionary advantage.
Bernhard Rensch Lecture
The Bernhard Rensch Lecture, organized by the Department of Biology at the University of Münster, is a lecture series honoring the behavioral scientist Prof. Dr. Bernhard Rensch, who died in 1990. From 1947, he was Director of the Zoological Institute at the University of Münster and Director of the State Museum of Natural History. Since his 80th birthday in 1980, the lecture named after him has been held annually, with leading biologists discussing key issues in their discipline. The department invites internationally recognized and distinguished personalities as speakers who, with their own fields of activity, are close to Bernhard Rensch's broad scientific interests and fields of work.
Prof. Kokko's lecture, "A long life: how desirable is it, evolutionarily speaking?", begins on July 10 at 11:15 a.m. in the castle's auditorium. The lecture is open to the public.
"Even a short life can be an advantage" - News message from the university