Meeting Abstract

100-4   10:45 - 11:00  Characterizing escape responses in the immigrans-tripunctata radiation of Drosophila Bingolo, EA; Bellemer, AC; Scott Chialvo, CH*; Appalachian State University; Appalachian State University; Appalachian State University chialvoch@appstate.edu https://sites.google.com/appstate.edu/scott-chialvo-lab/

An organism’s ability to detect and respond to a wide variety of noxious stimuli is vital for survival and development. The evolutionary arms race between predators and prey, such as parasitoids and their insect hosts, is one arena in which these behaviors can occur. Within larval Drosophila melanogaster, the escape response to a parasitoid wasp attack is well documented and consists of corkscrew-like rolling behavior after a parasitoid ovipositor probes the fly larvae. However, relatively little is known about such escape behaviors in other species of Drosophila, including taxa which may gain protection from predators by developing on chemically defended hosts. We examined this question using behavioral assays that replicate exposure to a parasitoid attack to document escape responses in nine species of the immigrans-tripunctata radiation, some of which are known to develop on toxic mushrooms. Our results indicate that several species demonstrate distinct behavioral responses which are not correlated with host usage. Thus, a behavior previously believed to be highly conserved may in fact be more variable.