Morphometric Variation of the Aedes albifasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) Wings in Three Populations From Different Ecoregions of Argentina

Abstract

Shape variability among individuals is important to understand some ecological relationships, since it provides the nexus between the genotype and the environment. Geometric morphometrics based on generalized procrustes analysis was applied on 17 landmarks of the wings of Aedes albifasciatus (Macquart 1838) (Diptera: Culicidae) females collected from three ecoregions of Argentina (Delta and islands of the Paraná River, Pampa, and Patagonian steppe). This methodology was used to discriminate the shapes of individuals belonging to different regions. The population of the Patagonian steppe, which was the most geographically distant, showed the most dissimilar shape. Different local variations in wing shape could have been selected according to the environmental characteristics and maintained by geographic isolation. The individuals of the two ecoregions closest to each other (Delta and islands of the Paraná River and Pampa) showed differences in shape that can be explained by a lower gene flow due to the effect of geographic isolation (by the Paraná River) and the limited dispersive capacity of Ae. albifasciatus. The results allow concluding that both environmental diversity and geographic barriers could contribute to local variations in wing shape.