The Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Kurdjumov), is a signiÞcant pest of small grains in theUnited States andworldwide. There is an increasing need for quality population dynamic models to aid in development of integrated pest management strategies. Unfortunately, there exists high variability in published data regarding basic life history traits that frequently direct model parameterizati...

In the literature, various environmental factors are described as being capable of influencing the reproductive output of insect females irrespective of their body size. Still, female body size or weight is widely used as a proxy for fecundity. In the present study, a seven-year data set on the autumnal moth, Epirrita autumnata (Borkhausen) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), was used to analyze whethe...

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of polyandry in species that provide nuptial gifts. When nuptial gifts are in the form of nutritional elements in the ejaculate and ejaculate size is correlated with male body size, females can accrue both direct (nutritional) and indirect (genetic) benefits from multiple mating. We examined remating decisions in females of the seed...

The tautog, Tautoga onitis (Linnaeus), ranges from Nova Scotia to South Carolina and has become a popular target for recreational and com­ mercial fisheries. Although tautog are a multiple spawning species, reproductive potential, measured as annual fecun­ dity, has not been estimated previously with methods (batch fecundity, spawn­ ing frequency) necessary for a species with indeterminate annu...

BACKGROUND Immunity that reduces worm fecundity and, in turn, reduces morbidity is proposed for Schistosoma haematobium, a parasite of major public health importance. Mathematical models of epidemiological trends suggest that antifecundity immunity is dependent on antibody responses to adult-worm-derived antigen. METHODS For a Malian cohort (age, 5-29 years) residing in high-transmission fish...

Lepeophtheirus simplex Ho, Gómez et Fajer-Avila, 2001 is a parasite of Sphoeroides annulatus (Jenyns), an economically important fish species, with potential for aquaculture, in northwestern Mexico. The goal of this study was to describe the developmental stages under experimental conditions and seasonal fecundity of this parasite on wild fish. There are two naupliar, one copepodid, two chalimu...

Sublethal exposure to pesticides can alter insect behavior with potential for population-level consequences. We investigated sublethal effects of ActiveGuard, a permethrin-impregnated fabric, on feeding behavior and fecundity of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) from five populations that ranged from susceptible to highly pyrethroid resistant. After exposure to ActiveGuard fabric or untreated fab...

Evolutionary theory suggests that fecundity rates will plateau late in life in the same fashion as mortality rates. We demonstrate that late-life plateaus arise for fecundity in Drosophila melanogaster. The result qualitatively fits the evolutionary theory of late life based on the force of natural selection. But there are a number of alternative interpretations. Fecundity plateaus could be sec...

Evolutionary ecology predicts that parasite life-history traits, including a parasite's survivorship and fecundity within a host, will evolve in response to selection and that their evolution will be constrained by trade-offs between traits. Here, we test these predictions using a nematode parasite of rats, Strongyloides ratti, as a model. We performed a selection experiment by passage of paras...