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The Fates of Immatures in Mixtures of Two Housefly Strains
Author(s) -
Bryant Edwin H.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1936896
Subject(s) - hatching , larva , dry weight , biology , housefly , yeast , ecology , zoology , growth rate , toxicology , botany , musca , biochemistry , mathematics , geometry
This study analyzes ecological factors determining numbers of adults produced in pure and mixed larval populations of two strains of houseflies, Orlando No. 1 (OL) and green—eye (ge), at low and high density. In pure and mixed cultures at low density, survival of OL was greater than that of ge. However mixtures significantly facilitated survival of ge, while lowering their mean dry weights. The interaction in mixtures resulted from 1) higher mortality in late hatching, smaller larvae; 2) more such in ge than in OL; 3) lack of a substance in ge, produced in OL, that enhances yeast growth. These factors lead to fewer deaths of small ge larvae in mixtures, resulting in increased mean survival while lowering mean adult weight. In pure cultures at high density, performance of ge was greater than that of OL because lower egg hatching in ge made more food available per individual. In mixtures OL is superior to ge owing to a faster feeding and growth rate relative to a constant critical weight for completing development.