Home
Work
Biology...
Programming...
Previous work
Education
The effects of larval density on adult life-history traits in three species of Drosophila.
Egon Baldal, Kim van der Linde, Paul M. Brakefield, Jacques J. M. van Alphen & Bas Zwaan (2004)
Mechanisms of ageing and development, 126: 407-416.
Online
Reprint:
Abstract
There is evidence that longevity and starvation resistance are determined by a common
genetic mechanism. Starvation resistance in Drosophila strongly correlates with
both fat content and longevity, and is affected by density during rearing. In this study, we
examine how three species,
Drosophila melanogaster,
Drosophila
ananassae and
Drosophila willistoni, respond to three larval density
treatments. Starvation resistance after adult eclosion, and after 2 days of feeding, and
longevity were examined in each sex.
D. willistoni reacted differently to larval
density than the other two species. This species showed an effect of density on longevity
whilst D. ananassae and
D. melanogaster showed no such effects. The
results also indicate that starvation resistance is not solely determined by fat content.
Resistance to starvation at two time points after eclosion differed among species. This
may reflect differences in resource acquisition and allocation, and we discuss our
findings in relation to how selection may operate in the different species.