Phenotypic plasticity in the labral fan of simuliid larvae (Diptera): effect of seston load on primary-ray number

Lucas, Peter; Hunter, Fiona F.

doi:10.1139/z99-173

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Thus, by adjusting the trait flexibility of fan structure, the larvae reduced production and maintenance costs and optimized feeding function according to food availability and current velocity. Lucas and Hunter (1999) demonstrated that the ray number of Simulium rostratum and Simulium decorum decreased with food supply increase in a laboratory experiment. In a study on another blackfly species, Simulium lundstromi, phenotypic plasticity of the fan structure showed a similar pattern as found in S. noelleri in response to different current velocities (Zhang and Malmqvist 1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The resourcebased divergent selection on some phenotypic traits in different environments is important for speciation to occur (Schluter 1996;Losos et al 1997;McKinnon et al 2004). The function of the fan morphological traits of different species is directly correlated with the flux rate of food particles (Zhang 2000;Lucas and Hunter 1999). Large fans in slow currents are beneficial to permit high particle delivery rate (Lacoursie`re and Craig 1993).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In blackfly larvae, a number of studies have examined effects of either current velocity or food condition or both on the distribution (Ciborowski and Craig 1989) and feeding behavior (Chance and Craig 1986;Schro¨der 1987;Hart et al 1991;Finelli et al 2002). Also the effects of seston load on ray number have been studied (Lucas and Hunter 1999). However, the impacts of current velocity and food on the plasticity of fan structure are yet to be studied simultaneously.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Balancing food availability and hydrodynamic constraint: phenotypic plasticity and growth in Simulium noelleri blackfly larvae

Zhang

2005

Oecologia

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Organisms through phenotypic plasticity can cope with multiple changed environmental conditions. Theory predicts that animals in streams and rivers should be able to balance demands of the needs to obtain food efficiently and to adjust response to hydrodynamic variability. This study examined effects of variations in food availability and current velocity on the feeding structure and growth rate of Simulium noelleri blackfly larvae. The larvae developed larger labral fans and more rays under slow current and low food regimes than in fast current and high food conditions. In both fast and slow current regimes, growth rates were higher and development periods to the final-instar stage were shorter in high food treatments. The estimated flux rates of food particles through labral fans under high food treatments for both fast and slow current regimes were higher than those under low food treatments. Although both food and current velocity appeared to have selected for flexibility of feeding structure and growth rate, food availability was a more important factor for phenotypic and developmental plasticity than current velocity. The results indicate a strong link between environmental changes in food availability and current velocity, phenotypic plasticity, and growth rate of S. noelleri. This study suggests that plasticity of ecomorphs with macroevolutionary significance may play a role in the early evolutionary stages of blackfly larvae.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Balancing food availability and hydrodynamic constraint: phenotypic plasticity and growth in Simulium noelleri blackfly larvae

Zhang

2005

Oecologia

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“…For example, larvae often demonstrate strong preferences for a restricted range of ambient velocities (Lacoursière 1992;Fonseca and Hart 1996) and exhibit spatial patterns within aggregations (Hart 1986;Ciborowski and Craig 1989) that may allow them to achieve higher ingestion rates. Moreover, experimental studies have demonstrated that the morphology of feeding structures (=labral fans) can be a phenotypically plastic response to variations in ambient flow conditions Malmqvist 1996, 1997;Palmer and Craig 2000) or seston loads (Lucas and Hunter 1999;Palmer and Craig 2000). Collectively, these results support the view that natural selection has molded the behavior and morphology of black flies to increase larval ingestion rates, and imply that flow will be a critical factor affecting feeding and associated processes (e.g., benthic-pelagic coupling, habitat selection, and growth).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stream insects as passive suspension feeders: effects of velocity and food concentration on feeding performance

2002

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Benthic suspension feeders are important components of aquatic ecosystems, often dominating the use of space and influencing patterns of material cycling between the water column and benthos. Biomechanical theory predicts that feeding by these consumers is governed by the flux (i.e., product of food concentration and velocity) of particulate material to their feeding appendages. We performed a laboratory flume experiment to test how feeding by larval black flies (Simulium vittatum Zett.) responds to independent manipulations of flow and food concentration. We quantified larval body posture, flick rate of the labral fans, and ingestion rate as a function of two concentrations of a baker's yeast/chalk suspension (0.96 and 4.44 mg l) and five water velocities (20, 30, 45, 60, and 90 cm s). Using analysis of covariance, we found that both flick rate and ingestion rate increased in a decelerating manner with increasing velocity, while fan height decreased linearly with increasing velocity. In contrast, food concentration had no effect on any aspect of feeding behavior. Thus, although both velocity and food concentration contribute to particle flux, our results indicate that the two were not substitutable under the range of conditions tested here.

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“…Labral fan morphology was assessed by measuring the fan ray width and length and number of rays of the completely opened primary fan, under a compound microscope using a microscopic micrometer. As intraspecific variation of the labral fan morphology has been reported (Lucas & Hunter, 1999;Adler et al, 2004), we selected larvae from several sampling sites for morphological measurement. For each species, at least 30 larvae were measured.…”

Section: Black Fly Trait Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Trait-based and phylogenetic community ecology of black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in tropical streams of Thailand

Pangjanda

Pramual

2015

Hydrobiologia

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A primary aim of community ecology is to determine mechanisms that shape community structure. In this study, we used trait-based and phylogenetic community ecology approaches to determine the factors underlying the species assemblage of black fly larvae in tropical streams of Thailand. Ecological data were obtained from 150 collections. Morphological traits were measured from 35 species. The phylogenetic relationship of these species was inferred from cytochrome c oxidase I, II, and 18S rRNA/ITS1 sequences. Phylogeny-based community analyses indicated that species in the community did not skew toward phylogenetic clustering or overdispersion. However, the trait-based community structure analysis based on labral fan morphology revealed that species in most ([78%) communities were more similar morphologically than expected by chance. As labral fan morphology is strongly related to habitat exploitation, it is considered that habitat filtering is a major factor shaping community structure of black fly larvae in tropical streams of Thailand.

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Phenotypic plasticity in the labral fan of simuliid larvae (Diptera): effect of seston load on primary-ray number

Cited by 17 publications

References 27 publications

Balancing food availability and hydrodynamic constraint: phenotypic plasticity and growth in Simulium noelleri blackfly larvae

Balancing food availability and hydrodynamic constraint: phenotypic plasticity and growth in Simulium noelleri blackfly larvae

Stream insects as passive suspension feeders: effects of velocity and food concentration on feeding performance

Trait-based and phylogenetic community ecology of black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in tropical streams of Thailand

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