# Great apes and the evolutionary origins of long life: the influences of early life adversity on lifespan and individual frailty in wild chimpanzees and gorillas

> **NIH NIH R01** · DIAN FOSSEY GORILLA FUND I · 2024 · $787,259

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
While one of the most remarkable features of the human species is our capacity for extreme longevity,
understanding the marked variation in life spans within and between populations and the capacity for further
life span extension are key priorities for aging research. A key insight from research thus far is that early life
has an especially important influence on life span differences both within humans and between humans and
other species.
Given its profound negative impacts on morbidity and mortality risk over the life course, early life
adversity is an important source of heterogeneity that also shapes disparities in human health and life span.
The widespread nature of these effects in humans and other animals suggests that the mechanisms that
underlie them have deep evolutionary roots, making comparative models appropriate and useful for assessing
responses to early life adversity across many ecological and social conditions. This study investigates two of
humans’ closest living relatives, chimpanzees and gorillas, to determine how variation in the prevalence of and
resilience to early life adversity shapes the capacity to achieve long life span in diverse environments. To aid in
distinguishing species differences from differences due to local ecologies, we include 2 populations of
chimpanzees. The three study systems differ in life span and occupy markedly different ecological and social
systems, exposing them to different regimes of adversity. This is a mixed prospective and longitudinal study,
leveraging 170 years of detailed demographic and early life adversity data from approximately 400 wild
chimpanzees and 485 wild gorillas. Aim 1 will determine the causes, severity, and responses to early life
adversity within populations, and between sexes, to quantify its influence on individual risk of mortality and
frailty. To accomplish this, we will analyze detailed demographic data and systematic quantitative measures of
social and ecological adversities, while generating novel and harmonizable measures of the biological effects
of these adversities for both developing and adult individuals. Aim 2 will use these data to determine how
different frequency of and sensitivity to adversity shapes heterogeneity in adult cohorts, and in turn influences
variation in demographic aging and life span. We will also perform structured comparative models and
simulations to evaluate the effects of early life adversity on population and species differences in longevity-
influencing life history traits. This project is made possible by three exceptionally rich longitudinal datasets from
wild apes, incorporating extensive biological sampling and health monitoring. The project will generate new
information that addresses key priorities for research on human life span, including the gender morbidity-
mortality paradox, determinants of social gradients in health span and life span, and identifying promising
targets for interventions to enhance huma...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10936791
- **Project number:** 1R01AG087961-01
- **Recipient organization:** DIAN FOSSEY GORILLA FUND I
- **Principal Investigator:** Fernando Alonso Campos
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $787,259
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-15 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10936791

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10936791, Great apes and the evolutionary origins of long life: the influences of early life adversity on lifespan and individual frailty in wild chimpanzees and gorillas (1R01AG087961-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10936791. Licensed CC0.

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