New study now points to evolution favouring 'survival of the laziest'

The species Anadara aequalitas was part of the study. Photo / Hendricks, J. R., Stigall, A. L., and Lieberman

Couch potatoes, rejoice!

After years of being guilt-tripped into fitness, science seems to be steering away from the whole "survival of the fittest" theory and embrace what we've all long hoped for: survival of the laziest.

New research suggests evolution might actually benefit the laziest of all of us.

A study looked at fossil and extant bivalves and gastropods in the Atlantic Ocean and found that laziness might actually be the right strategy to survive.

The research, conducted by a team from the University of Kansas, has just been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

Looking at the metabolic rates of 299 species, the researches concluded the amount of energy the organisms need on a day-to-day basis is a good indicator of whether they'd go extinct or not. They found that higher metabolic rates were more likely to lead to extinction.

This means laziness can actually be an important survival skill. By being lazy, you can now argue you are effectively postponing the extinction of your species (they can all thank you later).

"The lower the metabolic rate, the more likely the species you belong to will survive," said Bruce Lieberman, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who led the research at Kansas University, quoted by The Guardian.

"Instead of 'survival of the fittest', maybe a better metaphor for the history of life is 'survival of the laziest', or at least 'survival of the sluggish'."

"The probable explanation is that things that were more sluggish or lazy had lower energy or food requirements and thus could make do with little when times were bad," Lieberman further explained.

The researchers hope the work can help conservationists better forecast the species that are likely to go extinct due to climate change.