School of Biological Sciences Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-4236   Phone: 509-335-3553   Email:djholmes@wsu.edu   Ph.D. 1987 Bowling Green State University Biology   RESEARCH INTERESTS: Ovarian aging in birds, female reproductive aging in vertebrates and the evolution of menopause. RESEARCH SUMMARY: My research interests over the past 12 years have centered around the comparative biology of aging, including sex differences in reproductive aging and the evolution of human menopause. I am currently comparing reproductive aging in short- and long-lived female birds, including quail, budgerigar "parakeets", finches and terns). Conventional wisdom in biogerontology holds that reproductive aging in female birds and mammals is directly associated with declining numbers of primordial oocytes formed early in development. Data I've gathered over the past year, however, in collaboration with Dr. Mary Ann Ottinger at the University of Maryland, refute this idea. Unlike mammals, post-reproductive quail and budgie hens both still have significant numbers (30 to 75 percent) of the PFs seen in young, mature birds. Budgie, but not quail hens, show significant age-related declines in plasma estrogen levels, suggesting that these declines are not directly related to oocyte numbers. We are currently exploring the hypothesis that fertility declines in these birds is primarily attributable to non-ovarian neuroendocrine factors, including declining levels of GnRH or failure to release LH. REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS: Reznick D, Bryant M, Holmes D. 2006 The evolution of senescence and post-reproductive lifespan in guppies (Poecilia reticulata). PLoS Biol. 4(1):e7. Holmes DJ, Thomson SL, Wu J, Ottinger MA. (2003) Reproductive aging in female birds. Exp Gerontol.;38(7):751-6. Ogburn CE, Carlberg K, Ottinger MA, Holmes DJ, Martin GM, Austad SN. (2001) Exceptional cellular resistance to oxidative damage in long-lived birds requires active gene expression. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 56(11):B468-74. Holmes DJ, Fluckiger R, Austad SN. (2001) Comparative biology of aging in birds: an update. Exp Gerontol. 36(4-6):869-83. Review. Holmes DJ, Austad SN. (1995) Birds as animal models for the comparative biology of aging: a prospectus. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 50(2):B59-66. Review.