The effects of acclimation and rearing conditions on the response of tropical and temperate populations of Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans to a temperature gradient (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Abstract

The effects of rearing and acclimation on the response of adult Drosophila to temperature were investigated in a gradient. D. melanogaster flies preferred a higher mean temperature and were distributed over a wider range of temperatures than D. simulans flies. Acclimating adults at different temperatures for a week did not influence the response of either species. Adults reared at 28°C as immatures had a lower mean preference than those reared at cooler temperatures, suggesting that flies compensated for the effects of rearing conditions. Adults from tropical and temperate populations of D. melanogaster and D. simulans did not differ in the mean temperature they preferred in a gradient, sugg..