Drosophila species

Individuals of a species need to allocate and perform vital behaviours such as searching for mate and food, and escaping from environmental threats along the 24 hours of a day. Locomotion serves as a vehicle for all the mentioned behaviours. Daily patterns of locomotor activity may therefore be reflecting the temporal interaction between these behavioural drives and environmental factors. In addition, the internal circadian clock also shape daily locomotor activity pattern. Drosophila species inhabit a range of climatic zones, mild and extreme, where daily and seasonal variation in temperature, humidity, light intensity and day length can be observed.  While individual generations of Drosophila species do not usually live for several seasons, it is important that their locomotor patterns adapt to the potential range of dietary and climatic factors in their habitats. Working with Hanson lab in Penryn, UK, we plan to use video-tracking method to document daily locomotor activity and sleep pattern of Drosophila species and to invesitgate any adaptive signature in these patterns in accordance with their local climatic variables.