Abstract
Correlations between the parameters of life-span (LS) distribution of Drosophila melanogaster, including mean LS (MLS) and the time of 10 and 90% population mortality, and some geophysical parameters that are usually beyond the control of researchers dealing with laboratory cultures, including atmospheric pressure, solar activity indices (Wolf’s sunspot numbers and 2,800-MHz radio flux), and geomagnetic activity (planetary index, Kp), were studied. Geophysical data were obtained from free-access official web sites of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration of the US Department of Commerce and the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism and Radiowave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The geophysical parameters were calculated only for the period corresponding to 10 days of preimaginal development of the flies from egg to imago. Canonical correlation analysis, calculation of the non-parametric Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients, and graphical data analysis were used. Highly significant correlations between parameters of LS distribution in males and females and environmental factors, such as the atmospheric pressure on the 4th and 5th day of development and geomagnetic activity indices (Kp) on the 6th and 10th day of development were found, with correlation coefficients varying from 0.31 to 0.37 (P<0.02). Assuming a causal relationship between geophysical factors and LS, it may be hypothesized that energetically weak environmental factors determine the formation of LS oscillatory dynamics in laboratory populations. The possible mechanisms underlying the contribution of these environmental factors to the LS variation in successive generations are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adair RK (1999) Effects of very weak magnetic fields on radical pair reformation. Bioelectromagnetics 20:255–263
Akifyev AP, Obukhova LK, Izmayov DM (1992) Aging of living organisms: a step toward unraveling the mystery. Heralds Russ Acad Sci 62:420–424
Ankney PF (1984) A note on barometric pressure and behavior in Drosophila pseudoobscura. Behav Genet 14:315–317
Ashburner M (1989) Drosophila: a laboratory handbook. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York
Bartels J (1957a) The technique of scaling indices K and Q of geomagnetic activity. Ann Int Geophys Year 4:215–226
Bartels J (1957b) The geomagnetic measures for the time-variations of solar corpuscular radiation, described for use in correlation studies in other geophysical fields. Ann Int Geophys Year 4:227–236
Benestad RE (2002) Solar activity and earth’s climate. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
Breus TK, Pimenov KY, Cornelissen G, Halberg E, Syutkina EV, Baevsky RM, Petrov VM, Orth-Gomer K, Akerstedt T, Otsuka K, Watanabe Y, Chibisov SM (2002) The biological effects of solar activity. Biomed Pharmacother 56[Suppl 2]:273s–283s
Brocklehurst B (2002) Magnetic fields and radical reactions: recent developments and their role in nature. Chem Soc Rev 31:301–311
Brocklehurst B, McLauchan KA (1996) Free radical mechanism for the effect of environmental electromagnetic fields on biological systems. Int J Radiat Biol 69:3–24
Dimitrov BD (2000) Cyclicity in incidence variations of meningococcal infections in Bulgaria is similar to that of solar activity. Cent Eur J Public Health 8:114–116
Emanuel NM, Obukhova LK (1978) Types of experimental delay in aging patterns. Exp Gerontol 13:25–29
Eveson RW, Timmel CR, Brocklehurst B, Hore PJ, McLauchlan KA (2000) The effects of weak magnetic fields on radical recombination reactions in micelles. Int J Radiat Biol 76:1509–1522
Feinleib M, Rogot E, Sturrock PA (1975) Solar activity and mortality in the United States. Int J Epidemiol 4:227–229
Goodman EM, Greenebaum B, Marron MT (1995) Effects of electromagnetic fields on molecules and cells. Int Rev Cytol 158:279–338
Hargreaves JK (1992) The solar-terrestrial environment : an introduction to geospace—the science of the terrestrial upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere. Cambridge University Press, New York
Izmaylov DM, Obukhova LK, Okladnova OV, Akifyev AP (1990) Life-span of Drosophila melanogaster in successive generations after a single exposure to ionizing radiation. Dokl Akad Nauk SSSR 313:718–722
Izmaylov DM, Obukhova LK, Okladnova OV, Akifyev AP (1993a) Phenomenon of life span instability in Drosophila melanogaster: I. Nonrandom origin of life span variations in successive generations. Exp Gerontol 28:169–180
Izmaylov DM, Obukhova LK, Okladnova OV, Akifyev AP (1993b) Phenomenon of life span instability in Drosophila melanogaster: II. Change in rhythm of natural variations of life span after single exposure to gamma-irradiation. Exp Gerontol 28:181–194
Izmaylov DM, Obukhova LK, Konradov AA, Bradbury RJ, Peterson TF (1995) An analysis of correlation between geomagnetic field parameters and life-span of D. melanogaster. Chem Phys Rep 14:1807–1814
Izmaylov DM, Obukhova LK (1996) Geroprotector efficiency depends on viability of control population: life span investigation in D. melanogaster. Mech Ageing Dev 91:155–164
Izmaylov DM, Obukhova LK (1999) Geroprotector effectiveness of melatonin: investigation of lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster. Mech Ageing Dev 106:233–240
Izmaylov DM, Obukhova LK (2003) Life span variations in 128 successive generations of D. melanogaster. I. Evidence that the phenomenon exists and analysis of the variations mode. Mech Ageing Dev 124:589–597
Juckett DA, Rosenberg B (1993) Correlation of human longevity oscilations with sunspot cycles. Radiat Res 133:312–320
Khavinson VKh, Izmaylov DM, Obukhova LK, Malinin VV (2000) Effect of the Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly peptide on lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster. Dokl Biol Sci 374:466–467
Kloek GP (1978) Survivorship of Drosophila in nitrogen reduced hypobaric atmospheres. Aviat Space Environ Med 49:720–721
Lilliefors HW (1967) On the Kolmogorov–Smrnov test for normality with mean and variance unknown. J Am Stat Assoc 64:399–402
Lints FA, Lints CV, Bullens P, Bourgois M, Delince J (1989) Unexplained variations in life span of the Oregon-R strain of Drosophila melanogaster over a four-year period. Exp Gerontol 24:265–271
Lipa BJ, Sturrock PA, Rogot F (1976) Search for correlation between geomagnetic disturbances and mortality. Nature 259:302–304
Menvielle M, Berthelier A (1991) The K-derived planetary indices: description and availability. Rev Geophys 29:415–432
Muzalevskaya NI (1986) Longterm variations of the health and solar activity alterations. Probl Space Biol 53:92–99
Obukhova LK, Nakaidze NSh, Serebryany AM, Smirnov LD, Akifiev AP (1979) Experimental analysis of the mechanisms of ageing in Drosophila melanogaster. Exp Gerontol 14:335–341
Persinger MA, Psych C (1995) Sudden unexpected death in epileptics following sudden, intense increase in geomagnetic-activity—prevalence of effect and potential mechanism. Int J Biometeorol 38:180–187
Philips KJH (1992) A guide to the sun. Cambridge University Press, New York
Ratkowsky DA (1989) Handbook of nonlinear regression models. Dekker, New York
Sheskin DJ (2000) Handbook of parametric and nonparametric statistical procedures, 2nd ed. CRC, Boca Raton, Fla.
Stoupel E, Israelevich P, Gabbay U, Abramson E, Petrauskiene J, Kalediene B, Domarkiene S, Sulkes J (2000) Correlation of two levels of space proton flux with monthly distribution of deaths from cardiovascular disease and suicide. J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol 11:63–71
Stoupel E, Israelevich P, Petrauskiene J, Kalediene R, Abramson E, Gabbay U, Sulkes J (2002) Cosmic rays activity and monthly number of deaths: a correlative study. J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol 13:23–32
Zaytseva SA, Pudovkin MI (1995) Effect of solar and geomagnetic activity on population dynamics among residents of Russia. Biofizika 40:861–864
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Izmaylov, D.M., Obukhova, L.K. & Konradov, A.A. Correlations of life-span variation parameters in 128 successive generations of Drosophila melanogaster with changes in atmospheric pressure and geomagnetic activity. Int J Biometeorol 49, 337–344 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-004-0243-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-004-0243-1