We will measure the lifetime reproductive output for the two treatments of flies (with versus without spider), which is the total number of offspring that are produced from birth to death, and we will also compare the average lifespan between the treatments. These predictions are based on the idea that severe stress rapidly ages organisms, causing them to develop/mature more quickly, and die sooner. As a result, it is necessary that these organisms reproduce faster to ensure that their genetic material gets passed down. It’s a stretch to say the flies correlate the spiders with a quicker death, making them want to reproduce sooner because they know they will die. However, the stress caused by the spider matures flies quicker, so they are ready to reproduce faster than unstressed flies.
I’m excited to report back our findings, especially because this system and these questions are so new to me. I genuinely do not know what we will find, but that’s the fun of science isn’t it?
Fun report: my first paper got published from my work at the University of Tennessee, so take a look! https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295910#sec022
