The importance of phenotypic plasticity on clinal adaptation of South American D. melanogaster populations

Abstract

The Master student will carry out part of the studies planned for aim 2 of the main researchproject. The main goal is to test the influence of phenotypic plasticity at different temperatures onphenotypes related to climate adaptation. The student will work on close proximity to the postdoc, the associated researchers, and technicians. We will carry out laboratory experiments to measure phenotypes related to climate adaptation, such as wing and thorax size, adult longevity, desiccation tolerance, chill coma recovery time and resistance to starvation stress on flies originating from eightpopulations collected along a latitudinal cline. Each phenotype will be measured on flies developing at two temperatures, 18oC and 25oC. This will test for phenotypic divergence among the populations, the presence of phenotypic plasticity, and possible variation in plasticity among the populations.