Werfel, JustinIngber, Donald E.Bar-Yam, Yaneer2019-10-032015Werfel, Justin, Donald E. Ingber, and Yaneer Bar-Yam. 2015. “Programed Death Is Favored by Natural Selection in Spatial Systems.” Physical Review Letters 114 (23). https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.114.238103.0031-90071079-71141092-0145http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41461277Standard evolutionary theories of aging and mortality, implicitly based on mean-field assumptions, hold that programed mortality is untenable, as it opposes direct individual benefit. We show that in spatial models with local reproduction, programed deaths instead robustly result in long-term benefit to a lineage, by reducing local environmental resource depletion via spatiotemporal patterns causing feedback over many generations. Results are robust to model variations, implying that direct selection for shorter life span may be quite widespread in nature.en-USJournal Article2019-10-0310.1103/PhysRevLett.114.238103