Enhanced robustness in adult emergence of selected population persists under semi-natural (SN).

<p>(A) Circadian waveform of emergence of selected (<i>PP</i>) and control (<i>CP</i>) flies under laboratory (LAB). Percentage of flies that emerged in 2 h bins over five successive cycles is plotted along <i>y</i>-axis and External Time (in h) along <i>x</i>-axis. The square wave indicated above the figure represents 12∶12 h light/dark (LD) cycles. (B) Circadian waveform of emergence under SN. Percentage of flies that emerged in 2 h bins over five successive cycles are plotted along <i>y</i>-axis and External Time in h along <i>x</i>-axis. Upper panels of 1B show daily profiles of light (lux), temperature (^°C) and humidity (%RH) for the entire duration of the experiment. Under LAB, greater percentage of <i>PP</i> flies emerged during the peak which persisted under SN. For this assay, ten vials for each of the four replicate populations were used under each environmental condition. The mean values of four replicates and variance in terms of 95% comparison interval (95%CI) were used to draw emergence profiles and error bars.</p

Enhanced stability in adult emergence of selected population persists under semi-natural (SN) condition.

<p>(A) Waveform of adult emergence (left panel) in selected (<i>PP</i>) and control (<i>CP</i>) populations averaged across five consecutive cycles under laboratory (LAB). Percentage of flies emerged in 2 h bins are plotted along <i>y</i>-axis and External Time in h along <i>x</i>-axis. The square wave line above the Figure represents 12∶12 h light/dark (LD) cycles under laboratory condition. Peak of emergence in <i>PP</i> and <i>CP</i> populations under LAB (right panel). (B) Waveform of emergence (left panel) of <i>PP</i> and <i>CP</i> populations averaged across five consecutive cycles under SN. Peak of emergence in <i>PP</i> and <i>CP</i> populations under SN (right panel). Upper panels of 2B show average profiles of light (lux), temperature (°C) and humidity (%RH) for the entire duration of the experiment. A greater percentage of <i>PP</i> flies emerge during the selection window compared to <i>CP</i>. Concurrent to the increase in percentage emergence during the selection window there is a decrease in percentage emergence prior-to the selection window, with reduced anticipation to lights-on. Shaded box on the <i>x</i>-axis represents the selection window. Under SN, <i>PP</i> flies sustain robust waveform of emergence with more prominent peak and narrower gate-width. Error bars represent 95% comparison intervals (95%CI) around the mean for visual hypothesis testing. For this assay, ten vials for each of the four replicate populations were used under each environmental condition. The mean values of four replicates and variance in terms of 95% comparison interval (95%CI) were used to draw emergence profiles and error bars.</p

Selected flies in semi-natural (SN) condition emerge in a narrower gate with enhanced accuracy.

<p>(A) Percentage of flies emerged during the selection window (ExT7-8) under laboratory (LAB) and SN. Higher percentage of flies emerges during the selection window under LAB as well as SN. (B) Gate-width of emergence rhythm in selected (<i>PP</i>) and control (<i>CP</i>) populations. <i>PP</i> flies exhibited narrower emergence gate under SN. (C, D) Synchrony and accuracy of <i>PP</i> and <i>CP</i> flies under LAB and SN. <i>PP</i> flies exhibit greater synchrony and accuracy compared to controls under both conditions. All other details are same as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0050379#pone-0050379-g002" target="_blank">Figure 2</a>.</p

Flies from selected populations exhibit enhanced activity during the morning peak.

<p>(A) Activity profiles of flies from selected (<i>PP</i>) and control (<i>CP</i>) populations under laboratory (LAB) and semi-natural (SN) conditions. The percentage of activity averaged over 8–10 successive cycles is plotted along <i>y</i>-axis and time of the day in h along the <i>x</i>-axis. Flies from selected populations showed increased activity during the morning peak under LAB as well as in SN. The day-to-day variations in light, temperature and humidity are plotted as error bars (SEM) on their daily profiles. Other details are same as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0050379#pone-0050379-g002" target="_blank">Figure 2a</a>. (B) Percentage activity during the morning peak, daytime, nighttime in flies from selected and control populations. Flies from <i>PP</i> were more active during the selection window under LAB and SN. (C, D) Synchrony and accuracy under LAB and SN. Enhanced synchrony and accuracy in the phase of morning activity peak in <i>PP</i> flies persisted under SN. About 32 flies were used for each of the four replicate populations under each environmental regime. The mean values of four replicates and variance in terms of 95% comparison interval (95%CI) were used to draw emergence profiles and error bars. All other details are same as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0050379#pone-0050379-g002" target="_blank">Figure 2</a>.</p