Abstract:We here review the current knowledge on the trophic ecology of stoneflies, an aquatic insect group of substantial ecological importance in lotic systems. We provide information on the feeding habits of nymphs and adults of the different families and highlight those studies that support particularly interesting findings. Regarding nymphs, we discuss the state of the art on aspects such as foraging strategies and behaviours, food acquisition mechanisms, the existence or absence of electivity for certain trophic … Show more
“…Particularly the here studied great-sized dobsonfly species may rely more on liquid sources and/or fat reserves produced in the larval stage. This fact has been reported in other aquatic insects as Plecoptera, in which only the great sized species do not ingest solid food, or only a non-significant quantity of it, during the adult life (Tierno de Figueroa and López-Rodríguez 2019)…”
Females of two species of corydalids (Megaloptera), Corydalus magnus Contreras-Ramos, 1998 and Platyneuromus soror (Hagen, 1861), are studied with the aim to determine if solid food is present in their guts, which would indicate the existence of feeding on solid food during the imaginal life in nature. Gut anatomical architecture is also studied and described for females of both species, showing no peculiarities regarding the existing information in other close related species and confirming that digestive morphology is conserved in Megaloptera, as previously reported in literature. No significant solid food was detected in any of the species, so in the nature, they may rely more on liquid sources and/or fat reserves produced in the larval stage for the energetic requirements of adult life.
“…Particularly the here studied great-sized dobsonfly species may rely more on liquid sources and/or fat reserves produced in the larval stage. This fact has been reported in other aquatic insects as Plecoptera, in which only the great sized species do not ingest solid food, or only a non-significant quantity of it, during the adult life (Tierno de Figueroa and López-Rodríguez 2019)…”
Females of two species of corydalids (Megaloptera), Corydalus magnus Contreras-Ramos, 1998 and Platyneuromus soror (Hagen, 1861), are studied with the aim to determine if solid food is present in their guts, which would indicate the existence of feeding on solid food during the imaginal life in nature. Gut anatomical architecture is also studied and described for females of both species, showing no peculiarities regarding the existing information in other close related species and confirming that digestive morphology is conserved in Megaloptera, as previously reported in literature. No significant solid food was detected in any of the species, so in the nature, they may rely more on liquid sources and/or fat reserves produced in the larval stage for the energetic requirements of adult life.
“…Indeed, Perloidea alone show a significantly higher head shape disparity (0.026) than non-perloidean stoneflies ( p = 2e −3 ) and earwigs ( p = 3e −4 ). This observation could be explained by the fact that perloidean stoneflies do not rely on frequent feeding of hard food in the adult stage in order to sustain egg development, because nutrients have been already stored by the predatory nymphs [ 37 , 82 ]. The adaptive importance of feeding-related head structures in adult Perloidea might therefore be lowered, and the relative weight of selection pressures on the nymphal stage may be increased.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…[ 35 , 36 ]), are the only polyneopterans that show an amphibiotic lifestyle with aquatic nymphs and terrestrial adults ( figure 1 ) [ 34 ]. They transition from an aquatic to a terrestrial environment over the course of the final moult, often accompanied by a shift in feeding mode [ 37 ]. Figure 1 Overview of microhabitat occupation by nymphal and adult earwigs and stoneflies.…”
Most animals undergo ecological niche shifts between distinct life phases, but such shifts can result in adaptive conflicts of phenotypic traits. Metamorphosis can reduce these conflicts by breaking up trait correlations, allowing each life phase to independently adapt to its ecological niche. This process is called adaptive decoupling. It is, however, yet unknown to what extent adaptive decoupling is realized on a macroevolutionary scale in hemimetabolous insects and if the degree of adaptive decoupling is correlated with the strength of ontogenetic niche shifts. It is also unclear whether the degree of adaptive decoupling is correlated with phenotypic disparity. Here, we quantify nymphal and adult trait correlations in 219 species across the whole phylogeny of earwigs and stoneflies to test whether juvenile and adult traits are decoupled from each other. We demonstrate that adult head morphology is largely driven by nymphal ecology, and that adult head shape disparity has increased with stronger ontogenetic niche shifts in some stonefly lineages. Our findings implicate that the hemimetabolan metamorphosis in earwigs and stoneflies does not allow for high degrees of adaptive decoupling, and that high phenotypic disparity can even be realized when the evolution of distinct life phases is coupled.
“…Similar to ground-level riparian habitats, canopy habitats can provide substrates for finding mates, roosting locations, refugia from predators, etc., and species-specific adaptations for vertical migration may occur. Certain plecopteran taxa feed as adults on algae, lichens, nectar, pollen, and other resources that may occur in the canopy [ 14 , 31 ]. For example, forests surrounding the study sites included Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip Poplar), which have large flowers in the canopy that could serve as a food source for adults.…”
Stream insects are essential components of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem structure and function. Terrestrial stages are important components of terrestrial food webs, and flight-capable individuals are responsible for long-distance dispersal. Horizontal migrations by flying or crawling adults away from stream channels that link insects to riparian food webs and movements across catchment boundaries are well established through empirical research, but studies examining vertical migration of adult stream insects into forest canopies are generally lacking. This study focused on differences in adult Plecoptera and Trichoptera abundance at ground level versus the riparian canopy and differences in abundances among summer and autumn sampling periods to empirically demonstrate use of canopy ecosystems by stream insects. Malaise traps at ground level and canopy traps placed 8 to 10 m above the stream at four sites in the Mosquito Creek watershed (Pennsylvania) were used to examine vertical migration. Larval assemblages were collected and compared to adult assemblage to investigate patterns of local migration in the catchment. We found significantly more stream insects at ground level than in the forest canopy for Trichoptera, Plecoptera, and all individual plecopteran families, but a meaningful number of individuals were found in the riparian canopy. Canopy abundances were similar to abundances captured in adjacent ground-level habitats in other studies. Comparisons of adult and larval abundances among sites, taxa, and stages indicated site- and taxon-specific patterns for vertical movement into riparian canopies. Demonstrating that adult stream insects utilize riparian forest canopies indicates that riparian forest conservation should be prioritized over reforestation and that several potential research questions exist to inform riparian management.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
