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553 results for “damselflies”
Data from: Strong asymmetry in the relative strengths of prezygotic and postzygotic barriers between two damselfly sister species
One of the longest debates in biology has been over the relative importance of different isolating barriers in speciation. However, for most species, there are few data evaluating their relative contributions and we can only speculate on the general roles of pre- and postzygotic isolation. Here we quantify the absolute and cumulative contribution of 198 potential reproductive barriers between two sympatric damselfly sister species, Ischnura elegans and I. graellsii, including both premating (habitat, temporal, sexual and mechanical isolation) and postmating barriers (prezygotic: sperm insemination success and removal rate, oviposition success, fertility, fecundity; postzygotic: hybrid viability, hybrid sterility and hybrid breakdown). In sympatry, total reproductive isolation between I. elegans females and I. graellsii males was 95.2%, owing mostly to a premating mechanical incompatibility (93.4%), while other barriers were of little importance. Isolation between I. graellsii females and I. elegans males was also nearly complete (95.8%), which was caused by the cumulative action of multiple prezygotic (n=4, 75.4%) and postzygotic postmating barriers (n=5, 7.4%). Our results suggest that premating barriers are key factors in preventing gene flow between species, and that the relative strengths of premating barriers is highly asymmetrical between the reciprocal crosses.
Data from: Pleistocene speciation with and without gene flow in Euphaea damselflies of subtropical and tropical East Asian islands
Climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene period could have had a profound impact on the origin of tropical species by the alternation of allopatric isolation and inter-population gene flow cycles. However, whether tropical speciation involves strictly allopatric isolation, or proceeds in the face of homogenizing gene flow, is relatively unclear. Here, we investigated geographical modes of speciation in four closely-related Euphaea damselfly species endemic to the subtropical and tropical East Asian islands using coalescent analyses of a multi-locus data set. The reconstructed phylogenies demonstrated distinct species status for each of the four species and the existence of two sister species pairs, E. formosa/E. yayeyamana and E. decorata/E. ornata. The species divergence time of the sibling Euphaea damselflies dates back to within the last one Mya of the Middle to Lower Pleistocene. The speciation between the populous E. formosa of Taiwan and the less numerous E. yayeyamana of the Yaeyama islands occurred despite significant bidirectional, asymmetric gene flow, which is strongly inconsistent with a strictly allopatric model. In contrast, speciation of the approximately equal-sized populations of E. decorata of the south-east Asian mainland and E. ornata of Hainan is inferred to have involved allopatric divergence without gene flow. Our findings suggest that differential selection of natural or sexual environments is a prominent driver of species divergence in subtropical E. formosa and E. yayeyamana; whereas for tropical E. decorata and E. ornata at lower latitudes, allopatric isolation may well be a pivotal promoter of species formation.
Data from: Divergence in female damselfly sensory structures is consistent with a species recognition function but shows no evidence of reproductive character displacement
Males and females transmit and receive signals prior to mating that convey information such as sex, species identity, or individual condition. In some animals, tactile signals relayed during physical contact between males and females before and during mating appear to be important for mate choice or reproductive isolation. This is common among odonates, when a male grasps a female's thorax with his terminal appendages prior to copulation, and the female subsequently controls whether copulation occurs by bending her abdomen to complete intromission. It has been hypothesized that mechanosensory sensilla on the female thoracic plates mediate mating decisions, but is has been difficult to test this idea. Here, we use North American damselflies in the genus Enallagma (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) to test the hypothesis that variation in female sensilla traits is important for species recognition. Enallagma anna and E. carunculatum hybridize in nature, but experience strong reproductive isolation as a consequence of divergence in male terminal appendage morphology. We quantified several mechanosensory sensilla phenotypes on the female thorax among multiple populations of both species and compared divergence in these traits in sympatry versus allopatry. Although these species differed in features of sensilla distribution within the thoracic plates, we found no strong evidence of reproductive character displacement among the sensilla traits we measured in regions of sympatry. Our results suggest that species‐specific placement of female mechanoreceptors may be sufficient for species recognition, although other female sensory phenotypes might have diverged in sympatry to reduce interspecific hybridization.
Data from: Male-mimicking females increase male-male interactions, and decrease male survival and condition in a female-polymorphic damselfly
Biologists are still discovering diverse and powerful ways sexual conflicts shape biodiversity. The present study examines how the proportion of females in a population that exhibit male mimicry, a mating resistance trait, influences conspecific males' behavior, condition and survival. Like most female-polymorphic damselflies, Ischnura ramburii harbors both "andromorph" females, which closely resemble males, and sexually dimorphic "gynomorph" counterparts. There is evidence that male mimicry helps andromorphs evade detection and harassment, but males can also learn to target locally prevalent morph(s) via prior mate encounters. I hypothesized that the presence of male mimics could therefore predispose males to mate recognition errors, and thereby increase rates of costly male-male interactions. Consistent with this hypothesis, male-male interaction rates were highest in mesocosms containing more andromorph (vs. gynomorph) females. Males in andromorph-biased mesocosms also had lower final body mass and higher mortality than males assigned to gynomorph-majority treatments. Male survival and body mass were each negatively affect by mesocosm density, and mortality data revealed a marginally significant interaction between andromorph frequency and population density. These findings suggest that, under sufficiently crowded conditions, female mating resistance traits such as male mimicry could have pronounced indirect effects on male behavior, condition, and survival.
Data from: Unravelling the effects of contemporary and historical range expansion on the distribution of genetic diversity in the damselfly Coenagrion scitulum
Although genetic diversity provides the basic substrate for evolution, there are a limited number of studies that assess the impact of recent climate change on intraspecific genetic variation. This study aims to unravel the degree to which historical and contemporary factors shape genetic diversity and structure across a large part of the range of the range-expanding damselfly Coenagrion scitulum (Rambur, 1842). A total of 525 individuals from 31 populations were genotyped at nine microsatellites, and a subset was sequenced at two mitochondrial genes. We inferred the importance of geography, environmental factors, and recent range expansion on genetic diversity and structure. Genetic diversity decreased going westwards, suggesting a signature of historical post-glacial expansion from east to west and the presence of eastern refugia. Although genetic differentiation decreased going northwards, it increased in the northern edge populations, suggesting a role of contemporary range expansion on the genetic make-up of populations. The phylogeographical context was proven to be essential in understanding and identifying the genetic signatures of local contemporary processes. Within this framework, our results highlight that recent range expansion of a good disperser can decrease genetic diversity and increase genetic differentiation which should be considered when devising suitable conservation strategies.
Threats from the air: damselfly predation on diverse prey taxa
<p>1. To understand the diversity and strength of predation in natural communities, researchers must quantify the total amount of prey species in the diet of predators. Metabarcoding approaches have allowed widespread characterization of predator diets with high taxonomic resolution. To determine the wider impacts of predators, researchers should combine DNA techniques with estimates of population size of predators using mark-release-recapture (MRR) methods, and with accurate metrics of food consumption by individuals.</p> <p>2. Herein, we estimate the scale of predation exerted by four damselfly species on diverse prey taxa within a well-defined 12-ha study area, resolving the prey species of individual damselflies, to what extent the diets of predatory species overlap, and which fraction of the main prey populations are consumed.</p> <p>3. We identify the taxonomic composition of diets using DNA metabarcoding and quantify damselfly population sizes by MRR. We also use predator-specific estimates of consumption rates, and independent data on prey emergence rates to estimate the collective predation pressure summed over all prey taxa and specific to their main prey (non-biting midges or chironomids) of the four damselfly species.</p> <p>4. The four damselfly species collectively consumed a prey mass equivalent to roughly 870 (95% CL 410–1,800) grams, over two months. Each individual consumed 29%-66% (95% CL 9.4–123) of its body weight during its relatively short life span (2.1-4.7 days 95% CL 0.74–7.9) in the focal population. This predation pressure was widely distributed across the local invertebrate prey community, including 4 classes, 19 orders, and ca. 140 genera. Different predator species showed extensive overlap in diets, with an average of 30% of prey shared by at least two predator species.</p> <p>5. Of the available prey individuals in the widely-consumed family Chironomidae, only a relatively small proportion (0.76%; 95% CL 0.35%–1.61%) were consumed.</p> <p>6. Our synthesis of population sizes, per-capita consumption rates and taxonomic distribution of diets identifies damselflies as a comparatively minor predator group of aerial insects. As the next step, we should add estimates of predation by larger odonate species, and experimental removal of odonates, thereby establishing the full impact of odonate predation on prey communities. </p>
Data from: Rapid evolution of larval life history, adult immune function and flight muscles in a poleward moving damselfly
Although a growing number of studies have documented the evolution of adult dispersal-related traits at the range edge of poleward-expanding species, we know little about evolutionary changes in immune function or traits expressed by nondispersing larvae. We investigated differentiation in larval (growth and development) and adult traits (immune function and flight-related traits) between replicated core and edge populations of the poleward-moving damselfly Coenagrion scitulum. These traits were measured on individuals reared in a common garden experiment at two different food levels, as allocation trade-offs may be easier to detect under energy shortage. Edge individuals had a faster larval life history (growth and development rates), a higher adult immune function and a nearly significant higher relative flight muscle mass. Most of the differentiation between core and edge populations remained and edge populations had a higher relative flight muscle mass when corrected for latitude-specific thermal regimes, and hence could likely be attributed to the range expansion process per se. We here for the first time document a higher immune function in individuals at the expansion front of a poleward-expanding species and documented the rarely investigated evolution of faster life histories during range expansion. The rapid multivariate evolution in these ecological relevant traits between edge and core populations is expected to translate into changed ecological interactions and therefore has the potential to generate novel eco-evolutionary dynamics at the expansion front.
Data from: Ecology and sexual selection: evolution of wing pigmentation in calopterygid damselflies in relation to latitude, sexual dimorphism and speciation
Our knowledge about how the environment influences sexual selection regimes and how ecology and sexual selection interact is still limited. We performed an integrative study of wing pigmentation in calopterygid damselflies, combining phylogenetic comparative analyses, field observations and experiments. We investigated the evolutionary consequences of wing pigmentation for sexual dimorphism, speciation and extinction and addressed the possible thermoregulatory benefits of pigmentation. First, we reconstructed ancestral states of male and female phenotypes and traced the evolutionary change of wing pigmentation. Clear wings are the ancestral state and that pigmentation dimorphism is derived, suggesting that sexual selection results in sexual dimorphism. We further demonstrate that pigmentation elevates speciation and extinction rates. We also document a significant biogeographic association with pigmented species primarily occupying northern temperate regions with cooler climates. Field observations and experiments on two temperate sympatric species suggest a link between pigmentation, thermoregulation and sexual selection, although body temperature is also affected by other phenotypic traits such as body mass, microhabitat selection and thermoregulatory behaviors. Taken together, our results suggest an important role for wing pigmentation in sexual selection in males and in speciation. Wing pigmentation might not increase ecological adaptation and species longevity, and its primary function is in sexual signalling and species recognition.
Photo 2. Sandy forest stream near Moyabi, Gabon. Habitat of Umma gumma, Paragomphus dispar and Trithemis legrandi. Photo: JK (24-ix-2013). In: Sixty new dragonfly and damselfly species from Africa (Odonata)
<p>uploaded for Odonatologica by Plazi</p>
Type Photo 1. Holotype of Umma gumma sp. nov., RMNH. In: Sixty new dragonfly and damselfly species from Africa (Odonata)
<p>uploaded by Plazi</p>
Figure 1. Male cerci in dorsal view (left) and paraprocts in ventral view with dotted outline of cerci (right) of Umma gumma sp. nov. and U. longistigma. In: Sixty new dragonfly and damselfly species from Africa (Odonata)
<p>uploaded by Plazi</p>
Photo 1. Umma gumma, male; Moyabi, Gabon. Photo: JK (24-ix-2013). In: Sixty new dragonfly and damselfly species from Africa (Odonata)
<p>uploaded for Odonatologica by Plazi</p>
FIGURES 10–15 in Description of two new damselflies, Protosticta zhengi and Sinosticta sylvatica, from China (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platystictidae)
FIGURES 10–15. Protosticta zhengi sp. nov., male: (10) head and thorax; (11) pronotum, dorsal; (12) genital ligula, ventral; (13) genital ligula, lateral; (14) caudal appendages, dorsal; (15) caudal appendages, lateral.
FIGURES 1–9 in Description of two new damselflies, Protosticta zhengi and Sinosticta sylvatica, from China (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platystictidae)
FIGURES 1–9. Sinosticta sylvatica sp. nov., male: (1) left forewing; (2) head and thorax; (3) pronotum, dorsal; (4) caudal appendages, dorsal; (5) caudal appendages, lateral; (6) caudal appendages, ventral; (7) face; (8) genital ligula, ventral; (9) genital ligula, lateral.
Figure 2. Spesbona angusta, larva. a in Larva of one of the world's rarest and most threatened damselflies: Spesbona angusta (Odonata: Platycnemididae)
Figure 2. Spesbona angusta, larva. a − head, dorsal view; b − head, lateral view; c − prementum, dorsal view; d – palpus.
Figure 1. Spesbona angusta, larva. a in Larva of one of the world's rarest and most threatened damselflies: Spesbona angusta (Odonata: Platycnemididae)
Figure 1. Spesbona angusta, larva. a − habitus, dorsal view; b − lamellae insertion, dorsal view; c − lamellae insertion, lateral view.
Figure 3. Spesbona angusta, lamellae. a in Larva of one of the world's rarest and most threatened damselflies: Spesbona angusta (Odonata: Platycnemididae)
Figure 3. Spesbona angusta, lamellae. a − lat- eral lamella with more complex frills; b − lat- eral lamella with less complex frills; c − me- dial lamella.
FIGURES 3–5. Sulcosticta vantoli. 3. Prothorax oblique dorsal view, 4. Cerci lateral view, 5 in Two new damselfly species from Polillo Island, Philippines (Odonata: Platystictidae)
FIGURES 3–5. Sulcosticta vantoli. 3. Prothorax oblique dorsal view, 4. Cerci lateral view, 5. Cerci mediolateral view.
FIGURES 34–41. C. holdereri, 34–40 in Chinese damselflies of the genus Coenagrion (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae)
FIGURES 34–41. C. holdereri, 34–40. male: (34) head and thorax; (35) abdomen, lateral; (36) abdomen, dorsal; (37) appendages, dorsal; (38) appendages, lateral; (39) second abdomen segment, dorsal; (40) pronotum, dorsal; (41) female body, lateral.
FIGURES 12–33 in Chinese damselflies of the genus Coenagrion (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae)
FIGURES 12–33. male genital ligula: (12) C. aculeatum, lateral; (13) C. aculeatum, ventral; (14) C. ecornutum, lateral; (15) C. ecornutum, ventral; (16) C. glaciale; (17) C. hastulatum, lateral; (18) C. hastulatum, ventral; (19) C. holdereri, lateral; (20) C. holdereri, ventral; (21) C. hylas, lateral; (22) C. hylas, ventral; (23) C. johanssoni, lateral; (24) C. johanssoni, ventral; (25) C. lanceolatum, lateral; (26) C. lanceolatum, ventral; (27) C. lunulatum, lateral; (28) C. lunulatum, ventral; (29) C. tengchongensis, ventral; (30) C. tengchongensis, lateral. 31–33. holotype specimen of C. chusanicum: (31) thorax; (32) caudal appendages; (33) end of abdomen.
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Allen Brain Atlas
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International Brain Laboratory public data
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OpenNeuro
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