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.