Abstract
Continued maintenance of organisms in laboratory cultures may produce stocks which differ in some degree from wild populations of the same species. Comparison of laboratory and wild populations of Woodruffia metabolica, a predatory ciliate, provides a measure of the effect. After an estimated 1,000—1,500 generations in laboratory culture, "domesticated" Woodruffia consumed the same number of prey organisms (Paramecium aurelia) per generation but increased at only 2/3 the rate of wild Woodruffia. After 7 months of laboratory cultivation, the wild Woodruffia's rate of increase decreased by 10% (not statistically significant). The precise means whereby the difference resulting from laboratory culture is brought about cannot be identified with certainty. However, existence of such a different leads to the conclusion that if laboratory studies are intended to explain quantitative phenomena in wild populations, experiments should be conducted as nearly as possible on organisms freshly caught in the wild.
Published Version
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