Altitudinal and Seasonal Variation in Drosophila Species on Mount Japfu of Nagaland, a Sub-Himalayan Hilly State of India

Drosophila (L.) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) has richly contributed to the understanding of patterns of inheritance, variation, speciation, and evolution. Drosophila, with its cosmopolitan nature and complexities in species compositions, is an excellent model for studying the eco-distributional patterns...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Insect Science 2013, Vol.13 (117), p.1-12
Main Authors: Achumi, Bovito, Hegde, Shridhar N., Lal, Pardeshi, Yenisetti, Sarat Chandra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altitude
Animals
Biodiversity
cluster analysis
Diptera
Drosophila
Drosophila - classification
Drosophila - physiology
Drosophilidae
Environment
Environmental aspects
evolution
India
occurrence constancy method
Origin of species
Population Density
Scaptodrosophila
seasonal variation
Seasons
Simpson's diversity index
Sophophora
Zoological research
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Summary:Drosophila (L.) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) has richly contributed to the understanding of patterns of inheritance, variation, speciation, and evolution. Drosophila, with its cosmopolitan nature and complexities in species compositions, is an excellent model for studying the eco-distributional patterns of various species. This study analyzed the altitudinal and seasonal variation in Drosophila species of Mount Japfu in Nagaland, a sub-Himalayan hilly state of northeast India, over the course of one year. A total of 4,680 Drosophila flies belonging to 19 species of 4 subgenera were collected at altitudes of 1500, 1800, 2100, 2400, and 2700 m a.s.l. The subgenus Sophophora Sturtevant was predominant, with 10 species, followed by subgenus Drosophila, with 4 species. Subgenus Dorsilopha and subgenus Scaptodrosophila were represented by 1 species each. The remaining 3 species were not identified. Cluster analysis and constancy methods were used to analyze the species occurrence qualitatively. Altitudinal changes in the population densities and relative abundances of the different species at different seasons were also studied. The diversity of the Drosophila community was assessed by applying Simpson's diversity index. At 1800 m a.s.l., the Simpson's index was low (0.09301), suggesting high Drosophila diversity at this altitude. The density of Drosophila changed significantly during different seasons (F = 26.72; df = 2; p < 0.0001). The results suggest the distributional pattern of a species or related group of species was uneven in space and time.
ISSN:1536-2442
1536-2442
DOI:10.1673/031.013.11701