The influence of the ability to disperse on generation length and population size in the flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum

Abstract. In Tribolium castaneum Herbst, in which dispersal is genetically determined, it is possible to select for strains that are characterized by high and low dispersal, High dispersal (HD) beetles are better adapted than low dispersal (LD) beetles for colonization, as can be seen from differences that exist between the two groups with regard to several life‐history parameters. Comparisons were made between the dynamics of seventy‐two HD and seventy‐two LD populations. Generation length in HD populations was significantly shorter than in LD populations. After 9¹/₂ weeks, in open treatments (from which dispersal away from the set was allowed), HD populations had more beetles than LD populations, whereas in closed treatments (from which dispersal away from the set was not allowed) the opposite was true. These findings may explain the maintenance of the genetic variability of dispersal behaviour in natural populations of T.castmeurn.