Viability and Developmental Time in Cactophilic Drosophila gouveai and Drosophila antonietae (Diptera: Drosophilidae) Are Dependent on the Cactus Host

• Published in: Annals of the Entomological Society of America Vol. 100; no. 4; pp. 490 - 496
• Main Authors: Soto, Ignacio M, Manfrin, Maura Helena, Sene, Fabio De Melo, Hasson, Esteban
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lanham, MD Entomological Society of America 01-07-2007
• Subjects: alternative hosts; Biological and medical sciences; Cactaceae; cacti and succulents; cactophilic Drosophila; Cereus; Cereus hildmannianus; developmental time; Diptera; Drosophila; Drosophila buzzatii; Drosophila gouveai; Drosophilidae; ECOLOGY AND POPULATION BIOLOGY; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; host plants; hybrids; insect development; insect fitness; Insecta; Invertebrates; mortality; phenotypic plasticity; phenotypic variation; Pilosocereus; Pilosocereus machrisis; species differences; Systematics. Geographical distribution; viability; cactophilic Drosophila; Insecta; Drosophila; Phenotypic plasticity; Host; host plants; Drosophilidae; developmental time; Arthropoda; Host plant; Invertebrata; Viability; Diptera
• DOI: 10.1603/0013-8746(2007)100[490:VADTIC]2.0.CO;2
• EISSN: 1938-2901; 0013-8746
• ISSN: 0013-8746

Drosophila gouveai Tidon-Sklorz & Sene and Drosophila antonietae Tidon-Sklorz & Sene (Diptera: Drosophilidae) are two cactophilic sibling species that belong to the Drosophila buzzatii cluster, which comprises seven species living in South America. D. gouveai uses the decaying stems of Cactaceae of the genus Pilosocereus as breeding sites, whereas D. antonietae is mainly associated with Cereus hildmannianus K. Schum. In this article, we investigate the effect that growing in alternative host cacti may have on fitness-related traits, developmental time and viability, relevant for species that live in ephemeral resources. Both species were reared in seminatural media prepared with fermenting tissues of either Pilosocereus machrisis Y. Dawson or C. hildmannianus. Our results show that the specific differences in the traits analyzed are host dependent. Overall, both species performed very well in P. machrisis, whereas survival in C. hildmannianus differed dramatically between species. The viability of D. antonietae was lower than in P. machrisis, whereas D. gouveai barely survived in C. hildmannianus. The results are discussed in relation to biogeographic, morphological, and molecular evidence, and they stress the need to assess the relative significance of host plant use in diversification of the D. buzzatii cluster.