What does this research mean for the field?

Body size and maximum depth are the most consistent macroecological predictors of maximum longevity in marine fishes, with the size-longevity association exhibiting a quadratic relationship that attenuates at larger sizes. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To determine the functional form of the relationship between body size and maximum longevity in marine-occurring fishes and assess the influence of broad environmental gradients like depth and latitude.

September 2, 2026Journal of Fish BiologyOpen Access

Body size, functional form and environmental correlates of maximum longevity in marine‐occurring fishes

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To determine the functional form of the relationship between body size and maximum longevity in marine-occurring fishes and assess the influence of broad environmental gradients like depth and latitude.
Analyzed 757 marine-occurring fish species using maximum length as the primary size metric alongside maximum depth and geographic latitude.
Compared linear and quadratic regression models, incorporating phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) on a matched subset of 605 species via FishTree.
Conducted sensitivity analyses using 5000 species-level bootstrap resamples, nonlinear quantile regressions, broad-Class adjustments, and Family-level clustering.
A quadratic length model fit the data better than a linear model, showing that the increase in longevity attenuates at larger body sizes.
Maximum depth was positively associated with log10 maximum longevity after adjusting for body size (estimate per 1000 m = 0.0692, 95% CI 0.0312 to 0.1072, p < 0.001), remaining robust across Teleostei-only and Family-clustered analyses.
Latitude metrics yielded inconsistent associations across model specifications, and no interaction terms met the false discovery rate threshold of q < 0.05.

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Implication

Comparative macroecological analysis uncovers that body size and depth predict maximum longevity in marine fishes, indicating depth-related life-history adaptations.

Cite This Study

Li et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a97e305c562ede874ec7904 https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.70629

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Implication

Comparative macroecological analysis uncovers that body size and depth predict maximum longevity in marine fishes, indicating depth-related life-history adaptations.

Body size, functional form and environmental correlates of maximum longevity in marine‐occurring fishes

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Implication

Cite This Study

Body size, functional form and environmental correlates of maximum longevity in marine‐occurring fishes

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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