Abstract
Some fitness components of Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans were measured in control and inter-specific competition tests. The effects derived from different relative frequencies of the competitors were examined under a factorial scheme with two temperatures, 21 °C or room temperature, and with adults developed in mixed- or pure-species cultures. D. melanogaster appeared as a strong competitor and outnumbered D. simulans in all the culture conditions. This was because intraspecific competition was stronger than inter-specific competition for D. melanogaster whereas the reverse occurred for D. simulans. In competition, the productivity of both species generally appeared as frequency-dependent, although density-dependent productivity seems to be a more accurate explanation.
D. simulans was very sensitive to variations of laboratory conditions. Room temperature and previous development with D. melanogaster were more favorable for D. simulans than 21 °C and previous development in pure cultures. These factors did not substantially affect D. melanogaster, which showed a greater ability of adaptation to laboratory conditions than its sibling D. simulans.
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Carracedo, M.C., Casares, P. The influence of species frequency, temperature regime and previous development condition on relative competitive ability between Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans . Genetica 69, 97–106 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00115128
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00115128