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Latitudinal variation in wild populations of Drosophila melanogaster : heritabilities and reaction norms
Author(s) -
Land J. Van ‘t,
Putten P. Van,
Delden W. Van
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1420-9101.1999.00029.x
Subject(s) - biology , wing , heritability , pupa , drosophila melanogaster , population , latitude , zoology , larva , evolutionary biology , genetic variation , variation (astronomy) , ecology , genetics , demography , gene , geodesy , sociology , geography , engineering , aerospace engineering , physics , astrophysics
Large amounts of genetic variation for wing length and wing area were demonstrated both within and between Drosophila melanogaster populations along a latitudinal gradient in South America. Wing length and wing area showed a strong positive correlation with latitude in both wild flies and laboratory‐raised descendants. Large population differences were observed for heritability and coefficient of variation of these two traits, whereas relatively small population differences were found for development time, viability, pupal mortality, sex ratio and their norms of reaction to four developmental temperatures. No clear‐cut latitudinal clines were established for these life‐history characters. These results are discussed in the light of Bergmann's Rule and the relation between larval development and adult body size.