Geographic variations of life history strategies in Drosophila melanogaster. I. Analysis of wild-caught populations.

Life history traits--hatchability, developmental time, longevity, and egg production--of five freshly caught European populations of Drosophila melanogaster were measured under homogeneous laboratory conditions. No significant phenotypic correlations between early and late fitness could be found for the five populations at the within-population level. At the between-population level, no consistent indication of any significant genetic correlation, either positive or negative, was detected for the same traits. These results are not in agreement either with the predictions of the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis proposed by Williams, nor with the opposite hypothesis suggested by Lints. The results suggest that natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster are genetically different for at least some life history traits measured in the laboratory as soon as possible after capture.