Journal article
Plasticity versus environmental canalization: Population differences in thermal responses along a latitudinal gradient in drosophila serrata
M Liefting, AA Hoffmann, J Ellers
Evolution | Published : 2009
Abstract
The phenotypic plasticity of traits, defined as the ability of a genotype to express different phenotypic values of the trait across a range of environments, can vary between habitats depending on levels of temporal and spatial heterogeneity. Other traits can be insensitive to environmental perturbations and show environmental canalization. We tested levels of phenotypic plasticity in diverse Drosophila serrata populations along a latitudinal cline ranging from a temperate, variable climate to a tropical, stable climate by measuring developmental rate and size-related traits at three temperatures (16°C, 22°C, and 28°C). We then compared the slopes of the thermal reaction norms among populati..
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Funding Acknowledgements
We thank V. M. Kellermann and B. Van Heerwaarden for help during field collections, J. Shirriffs and other staff at CESAR (The University of Melbourne) for their assistance during laboratory work and experiments, and A. Rebocho at the Department of Genetics (VU University) for access to the digital imaging equipment and technical assistance. We are also grateful to V. Debat and one anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. JE and ML were supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, VIDI grant no. 864.03.003, and AAH was supported by the Australian Research Council.