Ecomorphological Variation of the Wireworm Cephalic Capsule: Studying the Interaction of Environment and Geometric Shape

Abstract

Studying the association between organismal morphology and environmental conditions has been very useful to test hypothesis regarding the influence of climate on shape. It has been long recognized that different environments produce dissimilar stress levels in insects, which can be reflected on the ability of an individual to overcome these pressures and spread further. Agriotes (Coleoptera: Elateridae) species infest agricultural fields in different parts of Croatia, inhabiting different climatic conditions. Previous biological studies have indicated that there is a relationship between some Agriotes biological parameters such as density and climatic conditions such as soil moisture and temperature. However, it is still unknown how these environmental properties influence the wireworm morphological structure. This is highly relevant because the head of this species is directly involved in the mobility in the soil, thus affecting the invasive capacity of this insect. Therefore the aim of this study was to assess the association between different climatic conditions and the morphological variation of Agriotes cephalic capsule. Advanced multivariate analysis and geometric morphometric tool were applied to study the covariation between shape and environmental variables. Partial Least Squares methods were used in order to analyse the association between the wireworm head shape and three different climatic conditions: soil type, temperature and rainfall. Our results showed that there is a high covariation between the wireworm head shape and the climatic conditions. It was suggested that the observed shape–environment association could be result of the high plasticity of this species in relation to its invasive capacity.

Effect of fruit host on wing morphology in Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae): A first view using geometric morphometrics

“…Previous studies of differences in insect shape showed that GM can be used in pest population studies (Mikac et al 2013;Benítez et al 2014aBenítez et al , 2014bLemic et al 2014). Previous studies of differences in insect shape showed that GM can be used in pest population studies (Mikac et al 2013;Benítez et al 2014aBenítez et al , 2014bLemic et al 2014).…”

“…The results of the present study confirm that this extremely invasive species is successful worldwide because of its potential to adapt in different rearing conditions. Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, Bothynoderes punctiventris Germar), which have developed different biotypes under diverse environmental conditions (Lemic et al 2014Benítez et al 2014aBenítez et al , 2014b. It is expected that when rearing conditions change (e.g.…”

“…Morphology can be studied by analyzing morphometric measurements (i.e. Studies have analyzed the effects of environmental conditions on insect morphology, obtaining important information about the effects of ecological factors using geometric morphometry (GM; Benítez et al 2014aBenítez et al , 2014bLemic et al 2016;Mikac et al 2016;Lunardi et al 2017). host and growing conditions; Rohlf & Marcus 1993;Adams & Rohlf 2000;O'Higgins 2000;Henderson 2006).…”

“…shape and size) and it's changes in relation to other factors (e.g. These studies have provided evidence of developmental instability, as well as differences between biotypes regarding environmental conditions (soil type, climate and nutrition; Lemic et al 2014;Benítez et al 2014aBenítez et al , 2014b. Studies have analyzed the effects of environmental conditions on insect morphology, obtaining important information about the effects of ecological factors using geometric morphometry (GM; Benítez et al 2014aBenítez et al , 2014bLemic et al 2016;Mikac et al 2016;Lunardi et al 2017).…”

Host plant affects morphometric variation ofDiaphorina citri(Hemiptera: Liviidae)

“…Geometric morphometric analysis has provided insight into patterns of morphological variation associated with Musca domestica L. wild populations and laboratory colonies (Ludoški et al, 2014), wild sandfly populations (Santos et al, 2015), the discrimination of four species of Culex mosquitoes (Laurito, Almirón & Ludueña-Almeida, 2015) and synonymy of two Bactrocera species (Schutze et al, 2015). Geometric morphometric analysis has also been instrumental in visualizing and comparing morphometric variation in relation to factors such as competition of sympatric species (Adams & Rohlf, 2000), environmental variables such as temperature and rainfall (Benítez et al, 2014), temporal variation (Drake & Klingenberg, 2008), and geographic variation (Lashkari et al, 2013). Host plant species have been reported to affect morphometric measurements of insects such as the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Šulc) (Vargas-Madríz et al, 2013), Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Bethke, Paine & Nuessly, 1991; Thomas et al, 2014), Helicoverpa armigera (Hűbner) (Khiaban et al, 2010), the butterfly Heliconius erato (Jorge et al, 2011), the winged/wingless morphs of male pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Frantz, Plantegenest & Simon, 2010), and ACP collected from Mexico (García-Pérez et al, 2013).…”