Meeting Abstract

P2.75  Sunday, Jan. 5 15:30  The games that flies play: effects of temperature and density during development on the fitness of Drosophila melanogaster BORCHERT, JB*; ANGILLETTA, MJ; Arizona State University, Tempe; Arizona State University, Tempe jdborche@asu.edu

Both temperature and competition can affect the fitness of an organism. We examined how temperature and competition covary to affect the fitness of Drosophila melanogaster. We transferred either 1, 5, 15, or 30 eggs to a petri dish and maintained them in an incubator kept at either 16°, 21°, 25°, or 30°C. We then measured developmental time, survival to adulthood, wing size, and fecundity to approximate the fitness of drosophila under each treatment. These data were used to parameterize a game theoretical model that predicts where flies should lay eggs when microhabitats vary in temperature and density.