Biased dispersal of Metrioptera bicolor, a wing dimorphic bush-cricket.

Abstract

In the highly fragmented landscape of central Europe, dispersal is of particular importance as it determines the long-term survival of animal populations. Dispersal not only secures the recolonization of patches where populations went extinct, it may also rescue small populations and thus prevent local extinction events. As dispersal involves different individual fitness costs, the decision to disperse should not be random but context-dependent and often will be biased toward a certain group of individuals (e.g., sex- and wing morph-biased dispersal). Although biased dispersal has far-reaching consequences for animal populations, immediate studies of sex- and wing morph-biased dispersal in orthopterans are very rare. Here, we used a combined approach of morphological and genetic analyses to investigate biased dispersal of Metrioptera bicolor, a wing dimorphic bush-cricket. Our results clearly show wing morph-biased dispersal for both sexes of M. bicolor. In addition, we found sex-biased dispersal for macropterous individuals, but not for micropters. Both, morphological and genetic data, favor macropterous males as dispersal unit of this bush-cricket species. To get an idea of the flight ability of M. bicolor, we compared our morphological data with that of Locusta migratoria and Schistocerca gregaria, which are very good flyers. Based on our morphological data, we suggest a good flight ability for macropters of M. bicolor, although flying individuals of this species are seldom observed.