DOI: 10.5061/dryad.m37pvmdcs
title: How does ageing affect life history traits and cold tolerance in summer- vs winter-acclimated invasive fruit flies?

description: All species exhibit functional senescence, a process related to ageing
 that is influenced by both abiotic and biotic factors. Ageing leads to a
 decline in function and drives phenotypic senescence, marked by a
 reduction in phenotypic performance over time. In temperate regions,
 overwintering species must survive and age for several months often facing
 challenging conditions with low food availability and chilling injuries.
 Yet, overwintering species might enter a state of dormancy, which, can
 extend longevity and enhance stress tolerance. Evaluating the performance
 of the overwintering survivors is crucial for predicting the population
 dynamics, especially for significant pests like invasive fruit flies. At
 the end of winter, the surviving fly populations, which are expected to
 rebuild new generations, are likely in a dormant state (i.e., reproductive
 quiescence) and, are likely senescent. However, their performance has not
 been thoroughly described. This study aims to decipher the effect
 of ageing on stress tolerance and reproductive capacity in both males and
 females of summer-acclimated (SP) vs. winter-acclimated (WP) phenotypes of
 D. suzukii. SP and WP flies were reared under normal and low temperature
 conditions, respectively, and four age categories were established: very
 young, young, middle, and old. SP flies, showed the typical marked
 age-related decline in stress tolerance and fecundity. In contrast, the
 cold-acclimated and likely dormant WP flies maintained high stress
 tolerance and exhibited lower but stable reproductive potential, despite
 ageing for months at low temperatures. Our study highlights the importance
 of distinguishing between overwintering and summer phenotypes, as ageing
 differentially affects both.
description: # How does ageing affect life history traits and cold tolerance in summer-
 vs winter-acclimated invasive fruit flies?
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m37pvmdcs](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m37pvmdcs) ## Description of the data and file structure ### Files and variables #### File: CTmin\_ageing.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * Ctmin: values of minimum critical temperature in °C * cdt: complete code of the sample * morph: type of phenotypes * age: age class of flies * sex: male or female #### File: Ageing\_starvation\_resistance.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * condition: complete code of the sample * time: time to death * status: 1 for dead * morph: type of phenotype * sex: male or female * age: age class of flies #### File: Ageing\_fecundity.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * days: age of females when they start ovipositing * day_end: age of females when they stop ovipositing * age: age class of flies * mix: description of the cross * cross: phenotype of flies (winter-acclimated phenotype: WM or summer-acclimated phenotype: CT), sex (female: F and male: M) ,and age class (5: young, 15 & 30: middle, 45 & 90: old) * replicate: replicate number * alive: number of alive females in the replicate * total_adults: number of emerged offspring from the replicate #### File: CCRT\_ageing.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * time: time to recover (fly stands up) * status: 1 for recovered and 0 for dead * condition: complete code for the sample * morph: type of phenotype * age: age class of flies * sex: male or female