Larval hosts of Australian Drosophilidae (Diptera): A field survey in subtropical and tropical Australia


Autoria(s): van Klinken, R. D.; Walter, G. H.
Contribuinte(s)

P.G. Allsopp

Data(s)

01/01/2001

Resumo

The drosophilid fauna in Australia offers an important study system for evolutionary studies. Larval hosts are unknown for most species, however, and this imposes serious limits to understanding their ecological context. The present paper reports the first systematic, large-scale field survey of potential larval hosts to be conducted, in order to obtain an overview of the host utilisation patterns of Australian drosophilids. Potential hosts (mostly fruit and fungi) were collected from different vegetation types in northern and eastern Australia. Host data were obtained for 81 drosophilid species from 17 genera (or 28% of the known Fauna). Most genera were restricted to either fruit or fungi, although Scaptodrosophila spp. and Drosophila spp. were recorded from fruit, fungi, flowers and compost, and Drosophila spp. also emerged from the parasitic plant Balanophora fungosa. There was no evidence that use of either fruit or fungi was correlated to host phylogeny. Drosophilids emerged from hosts collected from all sampled vegetation types (rainforest, open forest, heath and domestic environments). Vegetation type influenced drosophilid diversity, both by affecting host availability and because some drosophilid species apparently restricted their search for hosts to particular vegetation types.

Identificador

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:60102

Idioma(s)

eng

Publicador

Blackwell Science Asia

Palavras-Chave #Entomology #Drosophila #Frugivore #Fungivore #Habitat Associations #Leucophenga #Saprophage #Scaptodrosophila #Hibisci Bock Drosophilidae #Eastern Australia #Reproductive Characteristics #Habitat #Coexistence #Serrata #Ecology #Flower #Fruit #Trade #C1 #270504 Invertebrate Biology #270703 Terrestrial Ecology #780105 Biological sciences
Tipo

Journal Article