Dietary protein mediates a trade‐off between larval survival and the development of male secondary sexual traits

Sentinella, Alexander T.; Crean, Angela J.; Bonduriansky, Russell

doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12104

Cited by 78 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 80 publications

(179 reference statements)

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“…Adult longevity of the banana stalk fly, Derocephalus angusticollis Enderlein (Diptera: Neriidae), was longest when larvae were reared on diets containing intermediate levels of protein (11 g/L) in comparison to low- (2.7 g/L) or high-protein (33 g/L) diets [43], supporting previous research that found high-protein diets to be toxic to the species [44]. Li et al [45] determined adult longevity in the honey bee Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola (Hymenoptera: Apidae) was dependent on protein content of the larval diet.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

The Impact of Diet Protein and Carbohydrate on Select Life-History Traits of The Black Soldier Fly Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

Cammack

Tomberlin

2017

Insects

217

131

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This study examined the impact of diet protein and carbohydrate percentages as well as moisture on the immature development, survivorship, and resulting adult longevity and egg production of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). Moisture impacted development and corresponding life-history traits more than protein:carbohydrate content; larvae were unable to develop on diets at 40% moisture. Larvae fed diets at 70% moisture developed faster, grew larger, and required less food than those reared on diets at 55% moisture. Larvae reared on the balanced diet (21% protein:21% carbohydrate) at 70% moisture developed the fastest on the least amount of food and had the greatest survivorship to the prepupal stage. Adult emergence and longevity were similar across treatments, indicating immature life-history traits were impacted the most. The control (Gainesville house fly) diet was superior to the artificial diets for all parameters tested. These differences could indicate that other constituents (e.g., associated microbes) serve a role in black soldier fly development. These data are valuable for industrialization of this insect as a “green” technology for recycling organic waste, which can be highly variable, to produce protein for use as feed in the livestock, poultry, and aquaculture industries, as well as for bioenergy production.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

The Impact of Diet Protein and Carbohydrate on Select Life-History Traits of The Black Soldier Fly Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

Cammack

Tomberlin

2017

Insects

217

131

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“…Like in D. melanogaster larvae, body size in neriid flies is maximized at high P:C ratios. In contrast, survival from egg to adult decreased with increasing protein (Sentinella et al, 2013). In adult females of both D. melanogaster and Queensland fruit flies B. tryoni, the protein and carbohydrate conditions that maximize egg production rate, lifetime egg production, and lifespan differ with each trait (Fanson et al, 2009;Lee et al, 2008).…”

Section: Choice V Statistic P Valuementioning

confidence: 95%

“…In male Telostylinus angusticollis neriid flies, survival and body size differ in their response to the protein to carbohydrate composition of the larval diet (Sentinella et al, 2013). Like in D. melanogaster larvae, body size in neriid flies is maximized at high P:C ratios.…”

Section: Choice V Statistic P Valuementioning

confidence: 99%

Drosophila melanogaster larvae make nutritional choices that minimize developmental time

Rodrigues

Martins

Balance

et al. 2015

Journal of Insect Physiology

122

136

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Organisms from slime moulds to humans carefully regulate their macronutrient intake to optimize a wide range of life history characters including survival, stress resistance, and reproductive success. However, life history characters often differ in their response to nutrition, forcing organisms to make foraging decisions while balancing the trade-offs between these effects. To date, we have a limited understanding of how the nutritional environment shapes the relationship between life history characters and foraging decisions. To gain insight into the problem, we used a geometric framework for nutrition to assess how the protein and carbohydrate content of the larval diet affected key life history traits in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. In no-choice assays, survival from egg to pupae, female and male body size, and ovariole number - a proxy for female fecundity - were maximized at the highest protein to carbohydrate (P:C) ratio (1.5:1). In contrast, development time was minimized at intermediate P:C ratios, around 1:2. Next, we subjected larvae to two-choice tests to determine how they regulated their protein and carbohydrate intake in relation to these life history traits. Our results show that larvae targeted their consumption to P:C ratios that minimized development time. Finally, we examined whether adult females also chose to lay their eggs in the P:C ratios that minimized developmental time. Using a three-choice assay, we found that adult females preferentially laid their eggs in food P:C ratios that were suboptimal for all larval life history traits. Our results demonstrate that D. melanogaster larvae make foraging decisions that trade-off developmental time with body size, ovariole number, and survival. In addition, adult females make oviposition decisions that do not appear to benefit the larvae. We propose that these decisions may reflect the living nature of the larval nutritional environment in rotting fruit. These studies illustrate the interaction between the nutritional environment, life history traits, and foraging choices in D. melanogaster, and lend insight into the ecology of their foraging decisions.

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“…In general, however, we know little about how conditions early in life affect allocation of resources to adult life history traits ([24], but see: [25]). In particular, far more studies have investigated the effects of early diet on naturally rather than sexually selected traits, (but see: [26–29]). This is surprising because variation in male lifetime reproductive success is often predominantly attributed to differences in mating success (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are sexually selected traits affected by a poor environment early in life?

2016

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BackgroundChallenging conditions experienced early in life, such as a restricted diet, can detrimentally affect key life-history traits. Individuals can reduce these costs by delaying their sexual maturation, albeit at the price of the later onset of breeding, to eventually reach the same adult size as individuals that grow up in a benevolent environment. Delayed maturation can, however, still lead to other detrimental morphological and physiological changes that become apparent later in adulthood (e.g. shorter lifespan, faster senescence). In general, research focuses on the naturally selected costs of a poor early diet. In mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), males with limited food intake early in life delay maturation to reach a similar adult body size to their well-fed counterparts (‘catch-up growth’). Here we tested whether a poor early diet is costly due to the reduced expression of sexually selected male characters, namely genital size and ejaculate traits.ResultsWe found that a male’s diet early in life significantly influenced his sperm reserves and sperm replenishment rate. Shortly after maturation males with a restricted early diet had significantly lower sperm reserves and slower replenishment rates than control diet males, but this dietary difference was no longer detectable in older males.ConclusionsAlthough delaying maturation to reach the same body size as well fed juveniles can ameliorate some costs of a poor start in life, our findings suggest that costs might still arise because of sexual selection against these males. It should be noted, however, that the observed effects are modest (Hedges’ g = 0.20–0.36), and the assumption that lower sperm production translates into a decline in fitness under sperm competition remains unconfirmed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0838-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Dietary protein mediates a trade‐off between larval survival and the development of male secondary sexual traits

Cited by 78 publications

References 80 publications

The Impact of Diet Protein and Carbohydrate on Select Life-History Traits of The Black Soldier Fly Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

The Impact of Diet Protein and Carbohydrate on Select Life-History Traits of The Black Soldier Fly Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

Drosophila melanogaster larvae make nutritional choices that minimize developmental time

Are sexually selected traits affected by a poor environment early in life?

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