The Quest for Immortality in Triatomines: A Meta-Analysis of the Senescence Process in Hemimetabolous Hematophagous Insects

MEDONE, P., J. E. RABINOVICH, E. NIEVES, S. CECCARELLI, D. CANALE, R. L. STARIOLO AND F. MENU

Senescence

INTECH

Lugar: Rijeka; Año: 2012; p. 225 - 250

Most studies in triatomines have investigated physiology, population genetics, phylogeny(see Gourbière et al., 2011 for a review) and ecology of a given species (e.g., Dumonteil et al.,2002; Gourbière et al., 2008; Barbu et al., 2011) but very few studies have investigated theevolution of life history traits in the light of evolutionary ecology concepts (Menu et al.,2010). Our study is the first comparative analysis to the senescence pattern and itsrelationship with life history traits in triatomines.Our results indicate that triatomines show both an actuarial and a reproductive senescence,with a high diversity of mortality patterns, even within a given genus. We believe that therelationship between life history traits, and particularly the trade-off between reproductiveeffort and future survival, is central to understand this diversity in mortality patterns. Inorder to identify ultimate and proximate factors underlying this diversity, we needlongitudinal studies conducted in the field in order to estimate if the potential senescenceobserved in the laboratory can be expressed under natural (sylvatic and domestic)conditions. The analysis of senescence in relation to other life history traits in triatomineshas not only academic value but also impinges in the areas of vector populationmanagement and epidemiology.