Wing morphology of a damselfly exhibits local variation in response to forest fragmentation

Goldner, Jakob; Holland, Jeffrey D.

doi:10.1007/s00442-023-05396-9

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Morphological theory indicates that longer wings, which facilitate dispersal, should be selected for in more fragmented, patchy environments. Indeed, studies of the impacts of contemporary fragmentation have found evidence of morphological shifts following habitat removal in volant taxa, including bees (Murúa et al 2011), damselflies (Goldner and Holland 2023), and both temperate (Desrochers 2010) and tropical (Hermes et al 2016) birds. Although nearly all fragmentation in our study system in the Usambara Mountains occurred prior to the onset of our study, the impacts and selective forces of past fragmentation could still result in long‐term directional shifts in morphology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Afromontane understory birds increase in body size over four decades

Neate‐Clegg,

Tingley,

Newmark

2024

Ecography

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Of the myriad responses to climate change, an emerging trend is the widespread decrease in animal body size with warming temperatures. Birds, in particular, have been shown to be decreasing in body size in several areas – most notably the Amazon Basin and temperate North America – but trends in much of the world remain unexplored. Here, we analyze temporal trends and climatic associations of body mass for 42 resident bird species over 36 years in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania, a tropical montane global biodiversity hotspot. In addition, we assess trends in wing length and mass:wing ratio over 21 years. Finally, we examine whether species‐specific trends in body mass are related to average body size or to trends in apparent survival. Overall, species' average body mass in the Usambara Mountains increased by 0.023 g decade‐1, amounting to increases of 4.1% over 36 years. These long‐term shifts in body mass were strongly and positively associated with annual mean temperature but showed no relationship with precipitation. Wing length increased on average by 2.0% over a 21‐year period, yet there was mixed evidence for trends in mass:wing ratio, suggesting that body size in general is increasing. While percentage trends in body mass were not related to trends in apparent annual survival, smaller species did display greater proportional increases in body mass. Although the drivers of increased body size remain unclear – and climate change cannot be ruled out – such increases among Afrotropical montane birds provide an intriguing counterpoint to observed declines in body mass elsewhere and suggest that trends in body mass in tropical birds may be mediated by biogeography or other abiotic or biotic drivers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Afromontane understory birds increase in body size over four decades

Neate‐Clegg,

Tingley,

Newmark

2024

Ecography

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“…Ectotherms such as aquatic insects are especially sensitive bioindicators that respond to anthropogenic impacts on both abiotic and biotic environmental variables [ 5 , 6 ]; members of the insect order Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have been noted as particularly useful gauges of environmental conditions [ 7 ]. With relatively short generation times, their morphological traits (e.g., body size) may signal recent environmental changes [ 8 ] but environmental factors that affect ecomorphology in odonates in the field are poorly understood. Some abiotic variables that influence insect morphology include aquatic factors like temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]; other variables such as depth, conductivity, pH, or turbidity may also affect development and, thus, body size [ 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Watershed-Mediated Ecomorphological Variation: A Case Study with the Twin-Striped Clubtail Dragonfly (Hylogomphus geminatus)

Girgente,

McIntyre

2023

Insects

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Anthropogenic land-cover change is modifying ecosystems at an accelerating rate. Changes to ecomorphologically variable taxa within those ecosystems serve as early-warning signs that resources on which humans and other animals depend are being altered. One known ecomorphologically variable taxon is Hylogomphus geminatus, a species of dragonfly in the southeastern United States that shows pronounced variation in total body length across its limited geographic range. We measured total length of live as well as preserved museum specimens of H. geminatus and the sympatric species Progomphus obscurus (as a means for comparison). Both species showed significant size differences linked to HUC-8 watersheds in which they occur. H. geminatus showed additional significant differences on either side of the Apalachicola River, Florida, for all comparisons by sex. In overlapping watersheds, the species tended to show the same trends in length relative to their respective averages. Smaller body length was associated with more urban and agricultural land cover. These findings indicate that ecomorphological variation is tied to the watershed scale and point to significant variations on either side of the Apalachicola River. More thorough future analyses would be needed to verify trends in body length and identify the drivers behind them.

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Wing morphology of a damselfly exhibits local variation in response to forest fragmentation

Cited by 2 publications

References 37 publications

Afromontane understory birds increase in body size over four decades

Afromontane understory birds increase in body size over four decades

Watershed-Mediated Ecomorphological Variation: A Case Study with the Twin-Striped Clubtail Dragonfly (Hylogomphus geminatus)

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