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Individual Fecundity and Senescence in Drosophila and Medfly

¹ Institute of Control Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
² Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
³ Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
⁴ Department of Entomology, University of California at Davis.
⁵ Duke University Center for Demographic Studies, Durham, North Carolina.

Address correspondence to A. I. Yashin, Duke University Center for Demographic Studies, 2117 Campus Drive, Box 90408, Durham, NC 27708. E-mail: yashin{at}cds.duke.edu

Evolutionary theory postulates that there should be a robust relationship between fecundity and longevity. Prior work has generally supported this concept, but has not shed much light on the mechanisms at play. In preceding work, we have developed and verified a mathematical model of Drosophila melanogaster female fecundity based on the analysis of empirical studies independently done by several different laboratories. Then we applied this technique to Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) populations. In this article we analyze associations between individual longevity and the parameters of individual fecundity pattern in Drosophila and medfly. We cluster both Drosophila and medfly individuals by life span and discuss the differences. It allows us to demonstrate that only one fecundity-related parameter is associated with longevity in Drosophila, whereas two such parameters can be found in medflies. This difference demonstrates different ways of aging in various Diptera species. Finally, we discuss the possible implications of this finding.

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