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<p>The observation that <i>Daphnia</i> males live shorter lives than females was one of the foundations of the Rate-of-Living theory of longevity and aging. However, more recent data cast doubts on the universality of this observation. Specifically, it is possible that <i>Daphnia</i> males, being smaller, experience ad libitum food availability when kept at the same food density level as females, and, therefore, may exhibit shorter lifespans than food-limited females experiencing the life-extending effects of dietary restriction. We measured sex-specific filtering rates in <i>D. magna</i> and determined that under our feeding protocol, females must be supplied with a diet at least twofold of the male diet to experience similar food availability. Sex lifespan differences disappeared or were reversed when males were juxtaposed to females experiencing similar feeding rate-adjusted food levels. This is consistent with the hypothesis that longer female lifespans under typical laboratory conditions can be, at least in part, explained by a dietary restriction effect that is not experienced by males at the same food level. These results undermine the classic Rate-of-Living explanation of sex differences in <i>Daphnia</i> and provide the baseline for dietary-restriction-mimicking interventions aiming to extend lifespan in either sex in this model organism.</p>

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Do Daphnia males really live shorter than females?

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月10日

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  • A. Catherine Pearson,
  • Meridith L. Smith,
  • Lev Y. Yampolsky

摘要

The observation that Daphnia males live shorter lives than females was one of the foundations of the Rate-of-Living theory of longevity and aging. However, more recent data cast doubts on the universality of this observation. Specifically, it is possible that Daphnia males, being smaller, experience ad libitum food availability when kept at the same food density level as females, and, therefore, may exhibit shorter lifespans than food-limited females experiencing the life-extending effects of dietary restriction. We measured sex-specific filtering rates in D. magna and determined that under our feeding protocol, females must be supplied with a diet at least twofold of the male diet to experience similar food availability. Sex lifespan differences disappeared or were reversed when males were juxtaposed to females experiencing similar feeding rate-adjusted food levels. This is consistent with the hypothesis that longer female lifespans under typical laboratory conditions can be, at least in part, explained by a dietary restriction effect that is not experienced by males at the same food level. These results undermine the classic Rate-of-Living explanation of sex differences in Daphnia and provide the baseline for dietary-restriction-mimicking interventions aiming to extend lifespan in either sex in this model organism.