Premium
Food preferences and nematode parasitism in mycophagous Drosophila
Author(s) -
Kimura Masahito T.,
Toda Masanori J.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
ecological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1440-1703
pISSN - 0912-3814
DOI - 10.1007/bf02347153
Subject(s) - parasitism , biology , nematode , drosophila (subgenus) , pleurotus , botany , pleurotus ostreatus , zoology , host (biology) , mushroom , ecology , gene , biochemistry
Food preferences and nematode parasitism were studied in natural populations of mycophagous Drosophila in and near Sapporo, northern Japan. Species which preferred fresh mushrooms showed species‐specific responses to Pleurotus mushrooms: D. pirka bred only on Pleurotus cornucopiae, D. trivitata on P. cornucopiae and P. ostreatus, D. trilineata on these two Pleurotus mushrooms and some other mushrooms, while D. sexvittata bred on a wide variety of mushrooms but seldom on Pleurotus mushrooms. Species which preferred decayed mushrooms ( D. quadrivittata, D. histrioides, D. testacea and species of the quinaria species‐group) showed host preferences different from those of the above species. The rate of parasitism by nematodes was generally higher in species which prefer decayed mushrooms than in species which prefer fresh mushrooms. Among species which prefer fresh mushrooms, only D. trilineata was parasitized frequently by nematodes. It was not clear what factors determine the rate of parasitism in these mycophagous Drosophila . D. pirka, D. trivittata and D. trilineata passed through three or four generations per year and entered reproductive diapause in early September in and near Sapporo.