Summary
Selection in both constant and fluctuating temperature environments for a constant bristle number in Drosophila melanogaster resulted in the maintenance of that number and in a decrease of both genetic and environmental variance. Although mean bristle number in the control lines increased over the early-generations there was a significant net decrease. Phenotypic variance decreased significantly, especially in later generations. In both control lines and in the line selected at 20–29° C. there was a significant decrease in asymmetry of bristle number. There was also a decrease in environmental variance in these three lines. Transplant experiments showed that when the lines were cultured in alien environments phenotypic variance tended to increase in the fluctuating and decrease in the constant temperature environment. However at generation 39, the phenotypic variance of lines selected in the fluctuating environment increased when samples of the lines were cultured in the constant temperature environment. The results indicate that stabilising selection can be effective in both fluctuating and constant temperature environments.
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Gibson, J., Bradley, B. Stabilising selection in constant and fluctuating environments. Heredity 33, 293–302 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1974.95
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1974.95
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