Breeding structure of Drosophila buzzatii in relation to competition in prickly pears (Opuntia ficus-indica)

Rotting Opuntia ficus-indica fruits (prickly pears) are used as breeding sites for up to four Drosophila species (D melanogaster, D simulans, D buzzatii and D hydei) in southern Spain. A field experiment showed that the larvae of D buzzatii are resource limited in Opuntia fruits available for ovipos...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Quezada-Díaz, J. E., Laayouni, Hafid, 1968-, Leibowitz, A., Santos, Mauro, Fontdevila, Antonio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:1997
País:España
Institución:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/72362
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10230/72362
http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/gse:19970305
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Body size
Cactophilic Drosophila
Competition
Density-dependent mortality
Population structure
Descripción
Sumario:Rotting Opuntia ficus-indica fruits (prickly pears) are used as breeding sites for up to four Drosophila species (D melanogaster, D simulans, D buzzatii and D hydei) in southern Spain. A field experiment showed that the larvae of D buzzatii are resource limited in Opuntia fruits available for oviposition for 108 h. Experimental fruits infested with D larvae were divided into two halves; the larvae in one half were allowed to develop normally, while those in the other half were provided with extra food. Approximately five times as many D buzzatii emerged from the supplemented as from the control halves, and the flies emerging from the supplemented halves were, on average, larger than those emerging from the control halves. F- statistics were estimated from allozyme data for the D buzzatii files. The values obtained from the supplemented halves, coupled with computer simulations to compare these estimates with the expected values generated by a limited number of mating pairs contributing progeny to a fruit, suggest an effective size of about 30 individuals. Even though 95% bootstrap confidence intervals for F(IS) estimates comparing the supplemented and control halves do not overlap, computer simulations suggest that we cannot support the hypothesis that selection is acting on allozyme variation.