Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) as a bridge between ecology and evolutionary genomics

Abstract

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) present an unparalleled insect model to integrate evolutionary genomics with ecology for the study of insect evolution. Key features of Odonata include their ancient phylogenetic position, extensive phenotypic and ecological diversity, several unique evolutionary innovations, ease of study in the wild and usefulness as bioindicators for freshwater ecosystems worldwide. In this review, we synthesize studies on the evolution, ecology and physiology of odonates, highlighting those areas where the integration of ecology with genomics would yield significant insights into the evolutionary processes that would not be gained easily by working on other animal groups. We argue that the unique features of this group combined with their complex life cycle, flight behaviour, diversity in ecological niches and their sensitivity to anthropogenic change make odonates a promising and fruitful taxon for genomics focused research. Future areas of research that deserve increased attention are also briefly outlined.

The genetic variance but not the genetic covariance of life‐history traits changes towards the north in a time‐constrained insect

“…In addition to steady increases in annual ambient temperature (IPCC, 2013), unpredictable environmental extremes are predicted to become more frequent during global climate change (Bailey & van de Pol, 2016). An increasing number of studies show that the current Gmatrix structure in a population can change considerably when the population experiences new realistic environmental conditions (Stoks et al, 2014;Bybee et al, 2016). Such studies are required because they reveal whether the environmental change imposed is sufficiently strong to cause a substantial change in G, upon which natural selection can work (Wood & Brodie, 2015).…”

Some mitochondrial genes perform better for damselfly phylogenetics: species‐ and population‐level analyses of four complete mitogenomes of Euphaea sibling species

“…Currently the A + T‐rich region is rarely used in phylogeographic and population genetic studies of damselflies (Ballare & Ware ; Bybee et al . ), probably due to the unavailability of taxon‐specific primers, the difficulty of directly sequencing the A + T‐rich region, which has numerous tandem repeats, and the analytical problems of highly variable lengths and indels. Nevertheless, the advancement of next‐generation sequencing technologies (Goodwin et al .…”

Catch them if you can! Do traits of individual European dragonfly species affect their detectability?

“…A complex life cycle combined with a sensitivity to anthropogenic changes predestined odonates to be effective bio‐indicators for a number of applied studies (Foote & Rice Hornung, ; Oertli, ; Dolný et al ., ; Bush et al ., ). Odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) comprise a rich phenotypic and ecological diversity in a single, ancient insect order and, therefore, constitute excellent candidates for ecological and evolutionary studies (Dijkstra et al ., ; Bybee et al ., ). In addition, the complex life cycle, several unique features, and a relatively low number of species (~6000 species) of this taxa make odonates one of the most attractive and best‐explored groups of insects (Barua et al ., ).…”

“…In addition, the complex life cycle, several unique features, and a relatively low number of species (~6000 species) of this taxa make odonates one of the most attractive and best‐explored groups of insects (Barua et al ., ). Unsurprisingly, the number of published studies on odonate diversity, ecology, and evolution have been gradually increasing (Bybee et al ., ).…”