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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Experimental Manipulation of Body Size to Estimate Morphological Scaling Relationships in Drosophila
Published on: October 1, 2011
[Population structure of Drosophila on quantitative measure traits and its seasonal changes]
G V Grechanyĭ1, E L Ermakov, I A Sosunova
1Institute of Biology, Irkutsk State University, Box 24, 3 Lenina Str., 664003 Irkutsk, Russia.
Abstract:
In the Drosophila population the individuals of medium, small and large size prevail in spring, summer and autumn correspondingly. Such differences are genetically determined. Small individuals are characterized by the highest modification variability while the large individuals--by the lowest one. Genotypic heterogeneity of the population was also found in the body size of individuals, which is the highest in summer and the lowest in autumn. Dynamics of the individual sizes and of genetic heterogeneity is determined by radical seasonal changes in genotypic composition of the population. Such reconstruction influences the substantial part of gene pool, which defines the dimension of individuals. One of the possible reasons of this process is an integral selective action of the population density and temperature. It provides the regulation of variations in numbers and adaptation to the seasonal changes in life conditions.

