Macronutrient intakes and the lifespan-fecundity trade-off: a geometric framework agent-based model
Authored by Stephen J Simpson, Cameron J Hosking, David Raubenheimer, Michael A Charleston, Alistair M Senior
Date Published: 2019
DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0733
Sponsors:
Australian Research Council (ARC)
Platforms:
C++
CUDA
Model Documentation:
ODD
Flow charts
Mathematical description
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Lifespan and fecundity, the main components in evolutionary fitness, are
both strongly affected by nutritional state. Geometric framework of
nutrition (GFN) experiments has shown that lifespan and fecundity are
separated in nutrient space leading to a functional trade-off between
the two traits. Here we develop a spatially explicit agent-based model
(ABM) using the GFN to explore how ecological factors may cause
selection on macronutrient appetites to optimally balance these
life-history traits. We show that increasing the risk of extrinsic
mortality favours intake of a mixture of nutrients that is associated
with maximal fecundity at the expense of reduced longevity and that this
result is robust across spatial and nutritional environments. These
model behaviours are consistent with what has been observed in studies
that quantify changes in life history in response to environmental
manipulations. Previous GFN-derived ABMs have treated fitness as a
single value. This is the first such model to instead decompose fitness
into its primary component traits, longevity and fecundity, allowing
evolutionary fitness to be an emergent property of the two. Our model
demonstrates that selection on macronutrient appetites may affect
life-history trade-offs and makes predictions that can be directly
tested in artificial selection experiments.
Tags
Agent-based modelling
Evolution
longevity
growth
GPU
Protocol
Reproduction
Drosophila
Nutritional geometry
Restriction
Life histories
In silico evolution
Appetite