The measurement of fitness components in natural populations is among the most important problems of population genetics. Much effort has been devoted to the measurement of one aspect of the reproductive component of fitness, the storage and use of sperm by females

Barr, L. G.

Marks, R. W.

Seager, Robert D.

University of Northern Iowa

University of Northern IowaUNI ScholarWorksBiology Faculty Publications Department of Biology6-1988Local Ecology and Multiple Mating in a NaturalPopulation of Drosophila melanogasterR. W. MarksRobert D. SeagerUniversity of Northern IowaSee next page for additional authorsCopyright ©1988 The University of Chicago. The copyright holder has granted permission forposting.Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/bio_facpubPart of the Biology CommonsLet us know how access to this document benefits youThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion inBiology Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@uni.edu.Recommended CitationMarks, R. W.; Seager, Robert D.; and Barr, L. G., "Local Ecology and Multiple Mating in a Natural Population of Drosophilamelanogaster" (1988). Biology Faculty Publications. 4.https://scholarworks.uni.edu/bio_facpub/4AuthorsR. W. Marks, Robert D. Seager, and L. G. BarrThis article is available at UNI ScholarWorks: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/bio_facpub/4 Vol. 131, No. 6 The American Naturalist June 1988 LOCAL ECOLOGY AND MULTIPLE MATING IN A NATURAL POPULATION OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER The measurement of fitness components in natural populations is among the most important problems of population genetics. Much effort has been devoted to the measurement of one aspect of the reproductive component of fitness, the storage and use of sperm by females. Reports of high frequencies (> 50%) of multiple mating of Drosophila in nature are common (Anderson 1974; Milkman and Zeitler 1974; Stalker 1976; Cobbs 1977; Levine et al. 1980). Only two studies have reported low remating frequen- cies (<25%; Craddock and Johnson 1978; Griffiths et al. 1982). None of these studies has attempted to examine the effect of environmental differences on remating. Gromko et al. suggested that remating could be influenced by various ecological factors such as "temperature, population size and density, [and] distri- bution of resources" (1984, p. 389). In this note, we report the results of a small study of multiple mating that takes advantage of a population of Drosophila melanogaster in a unique ecological situation in California's Sonoma Valley. In the course of estimating remating frequencies, we have developed new procedures for detecting multiple mating in individual females and have made an observation about the pattern of sperm use in wild-caught multiply mated D. melanogaster females. The area we studied is the environment in and around the Gundlach-Bundschu winery. In this area, D. melanogaster flies are found in two distinct habitats: inside and outside the winery building. This building is surrounded by vineyards to the west and by a scrub-oak woodland around the rest. There is no resident Drosophila population inside the building. During the day, flies are attracted into the winery and accumulate. By sunset, densities inside the winery are high by normal field standards: thousands of flies can be collected with a sweep net in a matter of minutes. However, these flies are killed every evening by an overnight pyrethrin fogging. In the morning no flies can be found in the winery, and we have been unable to find any larvae or pupae inside (Marks et al. 1980). The winery building, therefore, functions as a large trap, collecting flies from the surrounding woodland habitat during the day. Flies were collected simultaneously from inside and outside the winery, shortly after completion of the fall harvest around sunset. The weather was clear and dry. Inside the winery we collected with sweep nets; outside, at traps baited with actively fermenting banana mash set among the oaks. Flies were collected from the baited traps every 10 min. Since D. melanogaster flies require more than 10 min to complete copulation (Spieth 1952), this practice minimizes the possibility Am. Nat. 1988. Vol. 131, pp. 918-923. ? 1988 by The University of Chicago. 0003-0147/88/3106-0016$02.00. All rights reserved. NOTES AND COMMENTS 923 Marks, R. W., J. G. Brittnacher, J. F. McDonald, T. Prout, and F. J. Ayala. 1980. Wineries, Drosophila, alcohol, and Adh. Oecologia (Berl.) 47: 141-144. Milkman, R., and R. R. Zeitler. 1974. Concurrent multiple paternity in natural and laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 78:1191-1193. Prout, T., and J. Bundgaard. 1977. The population genetics of sperm displacement. Genetics 85:95- 124. Pyle, D. W., and M. H. Gromko. 1978. Repeated mating by female Drosophila melanogaster: the adaptive importance. Experientia (Basel) 34:449-450. Richmond, R. C., and L. Ehrman. 1974. The incidence of repeated mating in the superspecies Drosophila paulistorum. Experientia (Basel) 30:489-490. Sassaman, C. 1978. Mating systems in porcellionid isopods: multiple mating and sperm mixing in Porcellio scaber Latr. Heredity 41:385-397. Spieth, H. T. 1952. Mating behavior within the genus Drosophila (Diptera). Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 99:395-474. Stalker, H. T. 1976. Enzymes and reproduction in natural populations of Drosophila euronotus. Genetics 84:375-384. Turner, M. E., and W. W. Anderson. 1984. Sperm predominance among Drosophila pseudoobscura karyotypes. Evolution 38:983-995. Zouros, E., and C. B. Krimbas. 1970. Frequency of female digamy in a natural population of the olive fruit fly Dacus oleae as found by using enzyme polymorphism. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 13:1-9. R. W. MARKS DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY VILLANOVA, PENNSYLVANIA 19085 R. D. SEAGER DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IOWA 50614 L. G. BARR DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS, CALIFORNIA 956I6 Submitted February 10, 1987; Revised May 8, 1987; Accepted September 16, 1987

Local Ecology and Multiple Mating in a Natural Population of Drosophila melanogaster

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Local Ecology and Multiple Mating in a Natural Population of Drosophila melanogaster

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