Abstract
The objective of the present study was to examine variation in the shape and size of pronotum, hind femur, and head in the males of Orphulellapunctata (De Geer, 1773) from three different Brazilian biomes: the Cerrado, the Atlantic Forest, and the Pantanal. A total of 150 specimens were analyzed from three populations. The results of MANOVA indicated significant differences (p<0.01) in the shape of the analyzed structures of O.punctata from the different biomes. The results of ANOVA demonstrated significant differences (p<0.05) in the size of all analyzed structures. Pearson’s correlation analyses among the different structures and the environmental variables revealed that the shape of pronotum, hind femur, and head (dorsal view), as well as the size of pronotum and head (dorsal and lateral views) varied with the geographic longitude, while the shape of hind femur and head (dorsal view) showed a significant negative correlation with size. Results indicated that the shape and size of the analyzed structures, in general, were influenced by the geographical variables.
Highlights
Grasshoppers are characterized by diverse forms and colors, and a range of ecological and economic importance (Sperber et al 2012) due to their potential for causing damage to agriculture, as certain grasshopper species are phytophagous with defoliating behaviors (Carrano-Moreira 2015)
Analysis of the shape of the head in lateral view.—MANOVA results indicated that the shape of the head in lateral view differed significantly among the O. punctata populations from the different biomes (p
Among the evaluated structures in O. punctata, the hind femur and the head in the population from the Cerrado biome differed in comparison to the other populations from the remaining two biomes
Summary
Grasshoppers are characterized by diverse forms and colors, and a range of ecological and economic importance (Sperber et al 2012) due to their potential for causing damage to agriculture, as certain grasshopper species are phytophagous with defoliating behaviors (Carrano-Moreira 2015). Among such species, Orphulella punctata (De Geer) shows a wide geographical distribution ranging from Mexico to Argentina (Cigliano et al 2018). Geometric morphometrics is a technique that has been used widely in studies conducted on morphological variations at the intraspecific level throughout the geographical distribution range of species (Rattanawannee et al 2012, Zelditch et al 2012)
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