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Stephanie Hoefer
Biology Lab 1615
15 July 2014
Divergent Selection and the Evolution of Signal Traits and Mating Preferences
The authors of this article Howard D. Rundle, Stephen F. Chenoweth, Paul
Doughty and Mark W. Blows, have set up an experiment to test if divergent selection had
a role in mating preferences (1). The website biology-online.org defines divergent
selection as the process by which an interbreeding population or species diverges into
two or more descendent species, resulting in a once similar or related species to become
more and more dissimilar. What this means is that divergent selection is the process
where a new species evolves into two or more different forms or species. The authors
tested this by utilizing the fast reproduction of the common fruit fly, Drosophila serrate,
and calculating cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), which are the male hormone (signal
trait), used to attract their female counterpart.
These scientists believed that their experiment would follow the by-product
model of allopatric speciation (i.e. species evolve because of different environments);
therefore, reproductive isolation evolves as a side effect of divergent selection adapting
populations to the different environments (Rundle et al. 1). So in short, they believed
that mating choices were a direct effect of environment versus the other commonly held
speciation model which suggests that arbitrary directions may be caused by chance
events such as unique mutations(Rundle et al. 5)
Rundle, Chenoweth, Doughty and Blows derived 12 replicate populations
from a common ancestor and propagating four of them in each of three separate treatment
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environments: their ancestral lab environment (yeast food) and two novel environments
(rice and corn food) (2). The reason rice and corn were employed was because of their
richness in amino acids which is paramount to the development of the mating preference
hormone (Rundle et al. 5). To keep the populations healthy and from too much
overlapping, 100 Drosophila serrate of unknown sex were introduced into the rice and
corn bottles for each generation. To keep a strong baseline, all the fruit flies were raised
in the ancestral yeast medium to remove any environmental effects (for 2 generations),
after measurements were made they were then differentiated between the environments
(Rundle et al. 5).
Once the specimens reached maturity, ten males and ten females from each
population were chosen (carbon dioxide was utilized as an anesthesia) (Rundle et al. 5).
The CHCs (pheromones) were extracted and examined by gas chromatography. The nine
different CHCs and their peak in certain flies were what clued the scientists in to the
higher preferences in certain mates, keep in mind these pheromones are what attracts the
female flies.
So what were the results? The changes that were made in the CHCs paralleled
with the changes in the environment, so the changes obviously varied among populations
(Rundle et al. 2). Males and females differed in the vastness of variation when it came to
selection depending on their environment (table 1 on pg. 5 Rundle et al.). Rundle,
Chenoweth, Doughty and Blows observed that sexual dimorphism in the combination
of CHCs that responded to selection tended to increase in populations adapted to rice and
decrease in populations adapted to corn. (2) Also, it became apparent that the different
treatment environments had a greater effect on the females versus the males (Rundle et
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al. 2), and that yes, female mating preferences generated strong sexual selection on male
CHCs in these populations (Rundle et al. 3). In conclusion, the scientists were correct
and the mating preferences of the female Drosophila serrate were impacted by the
environment (yeast vs. corn vs. rice), and these strong preferences dependent on said
environments were a strong indicator of future divergent selection (natural selection
anyone?)

















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Works Cited
divergent selection. Biology-online.org. Biology-online, 2009. Web. 1 April 2009.
Rundle, Howard D. et al. Divergent Selection and the Evolution of Signal Traits and
Mating Preferences. Plos Biology. Plos.org, 25 October 2005. Web. 8 June 2014.

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