[sarumpaet]

This is, to a degree, what happens. However, a species that ages has an advantage in that new individuals, with perhaps better characteristics in the face of new circumstances, have access to more resources.

I do wonder whether there is a point where the lost experience of other individuals weighs heavier than physically better adapted individuals. In a way, culture serves as a way to preserve information that would be lost by aging.

[chewbacha]

> new individuals, with perhaps better characteristics in the face of new circumstances, have access to more resources.

Another way to interpret this would be “increased diversity.” Which is a selection advantage in an environment that experiences change. While organisms don’t have “clocks” they do have different rates of aging, implying a biological control. And species that live longer tend to hold on to longer genomes. This tends to mean that short lived species hold diversity in their population while Long lived species hold diversity in every genome. Both operate as fitness advantages, and seem to imply that aging is a biological quality.