Developmental Rate and Competitive Ability in Tribolium

Strains of the flour beetles Tribolium castaneum (CS) and T. confusum (CF) produced by artificial selection for fast and slow development were utilized in a series of competition experiments designed to determine the importance of developmental rate in competitive ability. For CS, both fast and slow strains were available; CF was selected only for fast development. All selected lines performed poorly in competition in comparison with their respective synthetic stocks, used as foundation populations for selection. A genetic model based on Lerner's notions of genetic homeostasis was constructed to describe the relationship between developmental rate and competitive ability in these strains.