ABSTRACT
Meigen, have been subjects of intense genetic, evolutionary, developmental, molecular, and behavioral research. Tremendous numbers of papers in all aspects of biology have been published on this group of flies. According to Powell (1997), more than 60,000 papers have been written on some aspect of the biology of drosophilids, and the community of researchers investigating this group continues to grow exponentially. In his book entitled
Progress and Prospects in Evolutionary Biology: The Drosophila Model
, Powell (1997: 3) makes the statement:
Certainly, results of research on
Drosophila
have had significant influence on research dealing with all aspects of the biology of species in the family Tephritidae. In this chapter, I want to first present a discussion of research we have conducted on the ecology, behavior, and sexual selection in a group of
Drosophila
species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The primary thesis of this section is the role of sexual selection in the speciation of Hawaiian
Drosophila
but also its role as a “driver for genetic change” (Carson 1997). Second, I will present a brief discussion about how the results of the research on the Hawaiian
Drosophila
have been applied to the pest tephritid species we have been studying in Hawaii. Where relevant, I will also make brief references to some of the other groups of tephritid species discussed in this volume.
