The Accumulating Costs Hypothesis—to Better Understand Delayed “Hidden” Costs of Seemingly Mild Disease and Other Moderate Stressors
Mild diseases and moderate stressors are seemingly harmless and are therefore often assumed to have negligible impact on Darwinian fitness. Here we argue that the effects of “benign” parasites and other moderate stressors may have a greater impact on lifespan and other fitness traits than generally thought. We outline the “accumulating costs” hypothesis which proposes that moderate strains on the
