Development time mediates the effect of larval diet on ageing and mating success of male antler flies in the wild

High-quality developmental environments often improve individual performance into adulthood, but allocating toward early life traits, such as growth, development rate and reproduction, may lead to trade-offs with late-life performance. It is, therefore, uncertain how a rich developmental environment will affect the ageing process (senescence), particularly in wild insects. To investigate the effects of early life environmental quality on insect life-history traits, including senescence, we reared larval antler flies (Protopiophila litigata) on four diets of varying nutrient concentration, then recorded survival and mating success of adult males released in the wild. Declining diet quality was associated with slower development, but had no effect on other life-history traits once development time was accounted for. Fast-developing males were larger and lived longer, but experienced more rapid senescence in survival and lower average mating rate compared to slow developers. Ultimately, la...优质的发育环境通常可提升个体直至成年后的表现，但若将资源投向生长、发育速率、繁殖等早期生命性状，则可能与后期生命表现产生权衡效应。因此，目前尚不清楚优质发育环境会如何影响衰老进程（senescence），这一问题在野生昆虫类群中尤为突出。为探究早期环境质量对昆虫生活史性状（包括衰老进程）的影响，我们将鹿角蝇（Protopiophila litigata）幼虫饲养于四种营养浓度各异的饲料中，随后记录了野外释放的成年雄性个体的存活状况与交配成功率。饲料营养浓度降低与发育速率减慢存在关联，但在控制发育时长后，饲料质量未对其余生活史性状产生影响。发育较快的雄性个体体型更大、寿命更长，但相较于发育较慢的个体，其存活相关的衰老进程更快，平均交配率也更低。最终，[文本内容未完整提供]