Abstract
A comparison of pupation height in light and dark was made using 12 species ofDrosophila, representing four species groups and four different ecological backgrounds (temperate-montane forest,virilis group desert,replate group; cosmopolitanmelanogaster group; tropical forest,willistoni group). Light condition has a significant effect on pupation height in only two of the species. In the light,D. montana stays close to the food surface, whileD. melanogaster pupates higher in light than in dark. Light-dependent patterns of pupation response do not correspond to those previously reported for the light-dependent mating response. Considerable interspecific variation exists for pupation height in each species triad, some of which could provide a basis for larval niche separation. Patterns of species differences in the desertrepleta triad are the same in light and in darkness.
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This work was supported in part by USPHS Grant 2 S07 RR07132 and by awards from CUNY-FRAP.
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Schnebel, E.M., Grossfield, J. The influence of light on pupation height inDrosophila . Behav Genet 16, 407–413 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01071320
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01071320