Demographic analysis reveals gradual senescence in the flatworm Macrostomum lignano

Table 2 Parameters of the Gompertz fit.

Replicate	A₀ (/day) (95% CI)	G (/day) (95% CI)	MRDT (years)
1	0.0010 (0.0006 – 0.0016)	0.0110 (0.0089 – 0.0136)	0.1725
2	0.0013 (0.0008 – 0.0021)	0.0087 (0.0067 – 0.0112)	0.2183
3	0.0012 (0.0007 – 0.0020)	0.0097 (0.0075 – 0.0125)	0.1961
Average	0.0011	0.0098	0.1956
SD	0.0002	0.0012	0.0229

A₀ is the initial mortality rate, which is age-independent. G is the Gompertz coefficient, which expresses the exponential increase in age-specific mortality rate. MRDT is the mortality rate doubling time, which is expressed in years to facilitate comparison with other species. 95% CI is the 95% confidence interval of the parameter as obtained by WinModest. For every parameter, the average and standard deviation (SD) of the three replicate cohorts are calculated and presented.

ISSN: 1742-9994