Primer: Evolution of Menopause

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier (Cell Press) via the DOI in this record.Women experience menopause – the cessation of reproductive function – at around 50 years of age, and typically live for decades after the end of fertility. Among mammals, only four species of toothed whales seem to show a similar pattern of early reproductive cessation followed by prolonged post-reproductive life. In this primer, we discuss the possible reasons for the evolution of this unusual life history trait, and why it is restricted to humans and to whales.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC