The association between wing morphology and dispersal is sex-specific in the glanville fritillary butterfly Melitaea cinxia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Casper J Breuker,Melanie Gibbs,Paul M Brakefield

doi:10.14411/eje.2007.064

Abstract

We examined whether dispersal was associated with body and wing morphology and individual quality, and whether such an association was sex-specific, in the Glanville fritillary butterfly Melitaea cinxia (L.) in Paldiski on the north coast of Estonia. Body weight, size and shape of both fore- and hindwing, wing aspect ratio and wing loading were used as measures of body and wing morphology. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of wing shape was used as a measure of individual quality. Males and females did not differ in dispersal rates, despite large differences in overall morphology and FA. Females had a significantly higher wing loading and aspect ratio, but a lower FA than males. Females, but not males, that dispersed differed in forewing shape from those that did not disperse. The sex-specifity of the covariation between dispersal and forewing shape is most probably due to wing shape being associated with different life-history traits in both sexes, resulting in different selection pressures on wing shape in each of the sexes.

Highlights

Dispersal in butterflies has often been regarded as an adaptation to spatial and temporal heterogeneity in habitat quality
We examined whether dispersal was associated with body and wing morphology and individual quality, and whether such an association was sex-specific, in the Glanville fritillary butterfly Melitaea cinxia (L.) in Paldiski on the north coast of Estonia
A study on M. cinxia on the Baltic island of Öland indicated that variation in overall body morphology was associated with variation in habitat fragmentation and dispersal, and that males and females have adapted differently to habitat fragmentation (Norberg & Leimar, 2002)

Summary

Introduction

Dispersal in butterflies has often been regarded as an adaptation to spatial and temporal heterogeneity in habitat quality (see for review Singer & Hanski, 2004). Dispersal in butterflies is very much associated with the availability of both suitable oviposition sites and/or mates These two factors depend largely on population density (Baguette & Neve, 1994; Baguette et al, 1996), degree of habitat fragmentation, host plant preference, quality and abundance (Saccheri et al, 1998; Hanski, 1999; Van Nouhuys & Hanski, 1999; Hanski & Ovaskainen, 2000; Kuussaari et al, 2000; Hanski et al, 2000, 2002), the time available for oviposition, as well as the size and number of eggs that females lay on individual host plants (Nylin & Janz, 1996; Kuussaari et al, 2000; Nylin et al, 2000; Hanski et al, 2002; Singer & Hanski, 2004; Gibbs et al, 2005). It has been suggested that variation in individual quality may cause variation in dispersal rates (e.g. Rintamaki et al, 1995; Matessi, 1997)

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Results

Conclusion