Natural selection in a bottle

The study of natural selection in laboratory systems undergoing experimental evolution can provide important insights into the relationship between natural selection and adaptation. We studied selection on the norm of reaction of age at first reproduction in a laboratory population of Drosophila melanogaster. This population had been selected on a discrete generation schedule in the laboratory for more than 600 generations. Using genetically marked strains, we studied development time, size, female fecundity, and viability of flies that began development at different times relative to the initiation of each bottle. Only flies that began development within 30 h of the initiation of the bottle were reliably able to eclose before the next transfer. Theory predicts that flies initiating development around this critical time should decrease size at maturity to ensure eclosion by the 14-d deadline, but late flies are not smaller. This result suggests an unknown constraint on response to selection on age at maturity in this population. Ultimately, laboratory systems provide the best opportunity for the study of natural selection, genetic variation, and evolutionary response in the same population.