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Visual Guidance in Drosophila

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Development and Neurobiology of Drosophila

Part of the book series: Basic Life Sciences ((BLSC,volume 16))

Abstract

One of the last enquiries inspired by Theodosius Dobzhansky is entitled, “How far do flies fly?”.1 The paper refers to several field studies where a labelled strain of Drosophila was released and its dispersal measured by recapture of labelled flies on subsequent days. If the dispersal is simply due to random movements of the flies, then it should be analogous to the dispersal of small particles performing Brownian movements. Expected, in this case, is a normal distribution of the flies such that the increase of their mean distance from the release point is proportional to the square root of the time elapsed since the release. The expected time dependence of the dispersal seems to hold, more or less, for colonies of D. pseudoobscura, and the diffusion model may be considered as a reasonable first approximation of the locomotor behavior. However, the expected profile of the distribution has not been verified. Conspicuously more flies were recaptured both near the release point and at the outer periphery of the field. This discrepancy was explained by the tendency of Drosophila either to remain in a favorable habitat, or to cover great distances in search of such a habitat. The observation suggests that the control of locomotion can be adapted by the fly to different situations and requirements. The locomotor behavior of D. melanogaster has been extensively studied in laboratory experiments. Most of the results obtained so far refer to optomotor responses which enable the fly to maintain a given course and altitude over extended periods of time.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für biologische Kybernetik, Tübingen, Federal Republic of Germany

    Karl G. Götz

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  1. Karl G. Götz
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay, India

    O. Siddiqi  & P. Babu  & 

  2. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Bronx, New York, USA

    Linda M. Hall

  3. Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA

    Jeffrey C. Hall

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© 1980 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Götz, K.G. (1980). Visual Guidance in Drosophila . In: Siddiqi, O., Babu, P., Hall, L.M., Hall, J.C. (eds) Development and Neurobiology of Drosophila . Basic Life Sciences, vol 16. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7968-3_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7968-3_28

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-7970-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-7968-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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