THE GENETICS OF CENTRAL AND MARGINAL POPULATIONS OF DROSOPHILA-SERRATA .1. GENETIC-VARIATION FOR STRESS RESISTANCE AND SPECIES BORDERS

Abstract

A selection experiment was used to determine if levels of genetic variance in an ecologically important trait, desiccation resistance, were different in central and marginal populations. Four populations of Drosophila serrata were sampled from central and marginal areas of its distribution, along a 3000-km stretch of Australia's east coast. Rainfall patterns along this stretch of coastline change from a tropical cycle in the north to a temperate cycle in the south. Replicate lines from the four populations underwent selection for desiccation resistance for 14 generations. Realized heritabilities calculated after 10 and 14 generations of selection indicated that the four populations differed ..