Data from: A resource on latitudinal and altitudinal clines of ecologically relevant phenotypes of the Indian Drosophila

The unique geography of the Indian subcontinent has provided diverse natural environments for a variety of organisms. In this region, many ecological indices such as temperature and humidity vary predictably as a function of both latitude and altitude; these environmental parameters significantly affect fundamental dynamics of natural populations. Indian drosophilids are diverse in their geographic distribution and climate tolerance, possibly as a result of climatic adaptation. These associations with environmental parameters are further reflected in a large number of clines that have been reported for various fitness traits along these geographical ranges. This unique amalgamation of environmental variability and genetic diversity make the subcontinent an ecological laboratory for studying evolution in action. We assembled data collected over the last 20 years on the geographical clines for various phenotypic traits in several species of drosophilids and present a web-resource on Indian-Drosophila ( http://www.indian-drosophila.org/). The clinal data on ecologically relevant phenotypes of Indian drosophilids will be useful in addressing questions related to future challenges in biodiversity and ecosystems in this region.

印度次大陆独特的地理格局，为各类生物造就了多样的自然栖息环境。该区域内，温度、湿度等多项生态指标均随纬度与海拔呈规律性变化；这些环境参数对自然种群的核心动态具有显著调控作用。印度果蝇类群（Indian drosophilids）在地理分布与气候耐受能力上均表现出丰富的多样性，这可能与其气候适应性演化密切相关。这类与环境参数的关联，还进一步体现在大量已被报道的渐变群（clines）中：沿该区域的地理梯度，多个果蝇物种的各类适合度性状均呈现出渐变分布模式。环境异质性与遗传多样性的独特融合，使印度次大陆成为研究野外演化过程的天然生态实验室。我们整合了近20年来采集的、关于多种果蝇物种各类表型性状地理渐变群的相关数据，并搭建了印度果蝇网络资源库（Indian-Drosophila，http://www.indian-drosophila.org/）。印度果蝇类群的生态相关表型渐变群数据，将有助于解答该区域生物多样性与生态系统所面临的未来挑战相关的科学问题。