Table 1.

A summary of the modeled life history related parameters

Modeled parameter	Explanation
Adult body mass	Inherited value of adult body mass. For simplicity we did not model environmental factors affecting growth and adult body mass
Bodymass at birth	Inherited body mass at birth
Reproductive rate	The frequency of reproduction (time between successive reproductions)
Litter size	Inherited litter size (number of progeny per single reproduction)
Growth rate	Fixed parameter that was identical for all individuals and invariable
SMP	Somatic maintenance program, or an individual’s inherited aging profile. Determines the probability of dying of physiological cause as a function of chronological age
Age of first reproduction	All individuals started reproducing when their body mass reached 96.93% of their adult inherited body mass. The value was chosen based on initial parameter values so that reproduction started at age 1000 time units. Subsequently the age depended on the evolution of body size and body mass at birth