Effect of exposure to male flies on the lifespan of female adult drosophila melanogaster (diptera: drosophilidae)

Energy is a limited resource that is used in reproduction, growth, and maintenance. For organisms to reproduce, energy may be transferred from maintenance to reproduction. We studied the effect of a single mating period on adult lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster to examine whether exposing female D. melanogaster to 0, 1, 2, or 6 male(s) for a 48-hour time interval would impact female lifespan while also examining how male competition during these intervals would impact male lifespan. We assigned females (n=20) to one of the four above treatments and exposed them to the designated number of males for a 48-hr time period, and we then isolated both males and females and monitored them daily for survival. There were no significant differences in the number of days survived between treatments for either males or females when comparing 0 versus 1 male or when comparing 2 versus 6 males. All four treatments could not be statistically compared because they were not conducted at the same time due to the number of virgins required for trials These results suggest that lifespan is not affected by the number of mates a female is exposed to or the number of competitors a male is exposed to. Further research could investigate whether 1 versus 6 males results in statistical significance.