scholarly journals Global Size Pattern in a Group of Important Ecological Indicators (Diptera, Chironomidae) Is Driven by Latitudinal Temperature Gradients

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Viktor Baranov ◽  
Jonas Jourdan ◽  
Blue Hunter-Moffatt ◽  
Sajad Noori ◽  
Simon Schölderle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
The Body ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Geographic Latitude ◽  
Biting Midges ◽  
Size Of Animals ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Size Gradient

Size is one of the most outwardly obvious characteristics of animals, determined by multiple phylogenetic and environmental variables. Numerous hypotheses have been suggested to explain the relationship between the body size of animals and their geographic latitude. Bergmann’s Rule, describing a positive relationship between the body size of endothermic animals and their geographic latitude, is especially well known. Whether or not insects exhibit a similar pattern has long been a subject for debate. We hypothesize that latitudinal size gradients are coupled to temperature variation affecting the metabolic rate of these merolimnic insects. We showcase a strong latitudinal size gradient in non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae), based on the examination of 4309 specimens of these midges from around the world. Although phylogenetic position was a key predictor of wing length, we also found that wing length decreases by 32.4 µm per every 1 °C of mean annual temperature increase. This pattern was found across different taxa and could be detected in 20 of 24 genera studied. We discuss the reasons for this pattern origin and its palaeoecological implications.

Modern and fossil insects body size as a possible proxy to understand environments of the past

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor Baranov ◽  
Blue Hunter-Moffatt ◽  
Sajad Noori ◽  
Simon Schölderle ◽  
Joachim T. Haug
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
The Body ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Fossil Insects ◽  
Biting Midges ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
The Past ◽  
Modern Species ◽  
First Results ◽  
Fossil Records

<p>The fossil records of Insects is quite rich and abundant, telling a story of the group’s rise through the Paleozoic, with the subsequent conquest of sea, land, freshwater and finally, for the first time in history of animals – air. Fossil insects also can tell us about the environment they lived in. It is relatively common to use insect remnants, especially head capsules of  non-biting midges (Diptera, Chironomidae) preserved in the sediments from the period including several last Ice ages the Holocene (11650 Years BC – Present) to reconstruct temperatures and the climate patterns of the past. Most of the midges in the Holocene are representatives of modern species, which allows us to extrapolate their ecology from the modern representatives of the same species. Based on our knowledge of the temperature preference of this modern species we can quite easily reconstruct and model their temperature preferences in the past.</p><p>Reconstruction of the temperature optimums of all the taxa in the community, together with analyses of the other paleoecological proxies (i.e. plant pollen profiles) enables us to assess the range of the temperatures experienced by the area in which midge samples of Chironomidae was obtained in the Holocene and latest Pleistocene. We cannot rely on such ecological extrapolation from the modern animals' ecology for the animal’s fossil records from the deep past, for example from Cretaceous or Triassic periods.</p><p>Therefore, we are proposing a more universally applicable climate proxy, independent of our knowledge of the fossil organism’s ecology. Animal size is one of the best candidates for such proxy. It is well known that the body size of the homoeothermic (“warm-blooded”) animals follows (roughly) so-called Bergman rule when size within the group of organisms is increasing from South to North ( i.e. polar bear and Amur tiger are both the northernmost and the largest representatives of their respective groups). We hypothesized that flies (Diptera) are suitable candidates for a quantitative paleoclimate proxy. Flies are very abundant in the fossil records from the mid Triassic (245 Mya) up until modern time. Their size is appears directly negatively correlated with temperature, i.e. representatives occurring further North are larger than the ones from the equatorial regions. This relationship allows us to use the relationships between the insect size and the geographic latitude at which they occur and the temperature at which these insects occur. Here we present a first results from analysis of > 2000 species of Chironomidae from around the globe, in a phylogenetic-constrained framework. First results are showing that non-biting midge’s wing and body size is growing by about 0.02 mm per one degree of geographical latitude, as one moves from the equator, mostly regardless of the phylogenetic position of the species analysed. This first results are showing that Insect size might be a promising proxy for reconstructing the palaeotemperature.</p><p> </p><div> <div> </div> </div>

scholarly journals Insect body size changes under future warming projections: a case study of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera)

Hydrobiologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rungtip Wonglersak ◽  
Phillip B. Fenberg ◽  
Peter G. Langdon ◽  
Stephen J. Brooks ◽  
Benjamin W. Price
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
The Body ◽  
Mesocosm Experiments ◽  
Future Warming ◽  
Increasing Temperature ◽  
Emergence Date ◽  
Average Body

AbstractChironomids are a useful group for investigating body size responses to warming due to their high local abundance and sensitivity to environmental change. We collected specimens of six species of chironomids every 2 weeks over a 2-year period (2017–2018) from mesocosm experiments using five ponds at ambient temperature and five ponds at 4°C higher than ambient temperature. We investigated (1) wing length responses to temperature within species and between sexes using a regression analysis, (2) interspecific body size responses to test whether the body size of species influences sensitivity to warming, and (3) the correlation between emergence date and wing length. We found a significantly shorter wing length with increasing temperature in both sexes of Procladius crassinervis and Tanytarsus nemorosus, in males of Polypedilum sordens, but no significant relationship in the other three species studied. The average body size of a species affects the magnitude of the temperature-size responses in both sexes, with larger species shrinking disproportionately more with increasing temperature. There was a significant decline in wing length with emergence date across most species studied (excluding Polypedilum nubeculosum and P. sordens), indicating that individuals emerging later in the season tend to be smaller.

scholarly journals Potential host ranges of three Asian larval parasitoids of Drosophila suzukii

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent M. Daane ◽  
Xingeng Wang ◽  
Brian N. Hogg ◽  
Antonio Biondi
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Classical Biological Control ◽  
Developmental Time ◽  
The Body ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Egg Load ◽  
Drosophila Suzukii ◽  
Larval Parasitoids ◽  
Female Body Size

AbstractAsobara japonica (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Ganaspis brasiliensis and Leptopilina japonica (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) are Asian larval parasitoids of spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae). This study evaluated these parasitoids’ capacity to attack and develop from 24 non-target drosophilid species. Results showed that all three parasitoids were able to parasitize host larvae of multiple non-target species in artificial diet; A. japonica developed from 19 tested host species, regardless of the phylogenetic position of the host species, L. japonica developed from 11 tested species; and G. brasiliensis developed from only four of the exposed species. Success rate of parasitism (i.e., the probability that an adult wasp successfully emerged from a parasitized host) by the two figitid parasitoids was low in hosts other than the three species in the melanogaster group (D. melanogaster, D. simulans, and D. suzukii). The failure of the figitids to develop in most of the tested host species appears to correspond with more frequent encapsulation of the parasitoids by the hosts. The results indicate that G. brasiliensis is the most host specific to D. suzukii, L. japonica attacks mainly species in the melanogaster group and A. japonica is a generalist, at least physiologically. Overall, the developmental time of the parasitoids increased with the host’s developmental time. The body size of female A. japonica (as a model species) was positively related to host size, and mature egg load of female wasps increased with female body size. We discuss the use of these parasitoids for classical biological control of D. suzukii.

scholarly journals Emergence ecology of the critically endangered Urothemis edwardsii in a new colonized site in El Kala National Park (Algeria): conservation implications

2019 ◽  
pp. 137-142
Author(s):  
Baaloudj Affef
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
The Body ◽  
Microhabitat Selection ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Vertical Distribution ◽  
Dragonfly Species

Urothemis edwardsii is one of the most threatened dragonfly species in the Mediterranean. Recent investigations and conservation efforts have increased the local geographic distribution of the species in Northeast Algeria, where a new population (named El Graeate) has been discovered. In the absence of information about the biology and behavior of U. edwardsii in this new site, a study was conducted on the emergence ecology of the species taking into account the temporal pattern of emergence, sex ratio, body size and microhabitat selection. Emergence, which was quite asynchronous, lasted for 50 days, with 50% of the population emerging within the first half of the period. Sex ratio at emergence was slightly female biased despite the absence of sexual size dimorphism, suggesting that size is not the only driving force behind mortality bias during the larval stage. There was a slight seasonal increase in the body size of exuviae (exoskeletons) in both sexes. Microhabitat selection, assessed as the vertical stratification of exuviae at ecdysis, was positively correlated with the height of supporting plants, but the relationship reached a plateau suggesting that there are predetermined limits to the vertical distribution of exuviae. These data will be essential for the future species protection, restoration and management attempts in the region.

scholarly journals PENGUKURAN PANJANG TUBUH CACING NIPAH PENDEK Namalycastis abiuma (POLYCHAETA: NEREDIDAE) DARI PERAIRAN MANGROVE SUNGAI KAPUAS KALIMANTAN BARAT

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-189
Author(s):  
Junardi Junardi
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Body Length ◽  
Anterior Segment ◽  
Total Body Length ◽  
The Body ◽  
Female Body Size ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Total Body ◽  
The Relationship

AbstrakCacing Nipah Pendek Namalycastis abiuma memiliki tubuh yang elastis dan mudah putus sehingga diperlukan pendekatan morfometri tubuh lain untuk menentukan panjang tubuh sesungguhnya. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk menentukan panjang tubuh total cacing nipah pendek dengan menggunakan bobot tubuh, jumlah total segmen berseta, panjang tiga segmen anterior pertama (L3) dan lebar segmen berseta atau setiger ke-10 (S-10). Spesimen yang digunakan dipilih hanya individu yang lengkap dan utuh. Pengukuran dilakukan dibawah mikroskop dengan lensa okular yang dilengkapi dengan mikrometer. Data dianalisis dengan analisis korelasi. Cacing yang digunakan sebanyak 258 individu yang terdiri atas 190 immature, 54 submature dan 14 mature dengan ukuran panjang tubuh rata-rata berturut-turut 108,62±34,80 mm, 172,27±42,78 mm dan 123,14±57,40 mm. Cacing betina ditemukan memiliki ukuran tubuh lebih besar dari jantan. Panjang tubuh N. abiuma dapat diduga dengan bobot tubuh, panjang L3 dan lebar S-10 dengan nilai koefisien korelasi (r) berturut-turut 0,82, 0,73 dan 0,78. Pendekatan morfometri dapat digunakan untuk menentukan ukuran tubuh N. abiuma.Abstract The short nypa palm worm Namalycastis abiuma has an elastic and fragile body. Therefore, an alternative approach of morphometrical techniques is needed to determine the total body length. This research aimed to estimate the total body length of the short nypa palm worm based on body weight, the total number of segments, the length of the first three anterior segment (L3) and the tenth setiger width (S10). Body measurement was done using stereomicroscope fitted with the micrometer. Correlation analysis was done to describe the relationship between the length of L3 and the width of S10. A total of 258 complete and whole specimens consisted of 190 immature, 54 submature, and 14 mature individuals. The average body length of immature individuals was 108.62±34.80 mm, 172.27±42.78 mm for sub mature individuals, and 123.14±57.40 mm for mature individuals. Based on sexual dimorphism, the female body size is larger than male. The body length of N. abiuma can be estimated by body weight, the length of L3, and the  width of S10, with  correlation coefficient (r) of 0.82, 0.73 and 0.78, respectively. Morphometry approach can be used to determine the body size of N. abiuma. 

scholarly journals Bulimic symptoms in a sample of college women: disentangling the roles of body size, body shame and negative urgency

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1357-1364
Author(s):  
Simon E. Dalley ◽  
Glenda G. Bron ◽  
Iona F. A. Hagl ◽  
Frederic Heseding ◽  
Sabine Hoppe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
College Women ◽  
Body Shame ◽  
The Body ◽  
Negative Urgency ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Bootstrap Analysis ◽  
Bulimic Symptoms ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Purpose This study set out to disentangle the roles of body size, body shame and negative urgency on bulimic symptomatology in a sample of college women. We predicted that body shame would mediate the relationship between body size and bulimic symptomatology: with increasing body size, the greater would be the experience of body shame and, in turn, the greater the bulimic symptomatology. We also predicted that negative urgency would exacerbate this mediation pathway, and that the moderated mediation model would occur over and above current levels of depression. Method A convenience sample of 237 college women indicated their age, height and weight and then completed measures of body shame, negative urgency, depression and bulimic symptomatology. Bootstrap analysis was used to test the predicted moderation mediation model. Results The bootstrap analysis supported all predictions. Thus, with greater the increase in body size, the greater was the body shame and the more frequent bulimic symptomatology. Furthermore, negative urgency moderated the relationship between body shame and bulimic symptomatology, such that those with both higher negative urgency and body shame had more frequent bulimic symptomatology. Conclusions Results suggest that those college women higher in both BMI and negative urgency are likely to experience higher levels of bulimic symptoms. These women may benefit from emotion regulation interventions targeted at preventing, as well as coping effectively with, the experience of body shame. Level of evidence V: cross-sectional descriptive study.

Hydrodynamic drag of diving birds: effects of body size, body shape and feathers at steady speeds

2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (9) ◽  
pp. 1547-1557 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Lovvorn ◽  
G.A. Liggins ◽  
M.H. Borstad ◽  
S.M. Calisal ◽  
J. Mikkelsen
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
The Body ◽  
Hydrodynamic Drag ◽  
Energy Costs ◽  
Milling Machine ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
High Speeds ◽  
Size Gradient

For birds diving to depths where pressure has mostly reduced the buoyancy of air spaces, hydrodynamic drag is the main mechanical cost of steady swimming. Drag is strongly affected by body size and shape, so such differences among species should affect energy costs. Because flow around the body is complicated by the roughness and vibration of feathers, feathers must be considered in evaluating the effects of size and shape on drag. We investigated the effects of size, shape and feathers on the drag of avian divers ranging from wing-propelled auklets weighing 75 g to foot-propelled eiders weighing up to 2060 g. Laser scanning of body surfaces yielded digitized shapes that were averaged over several specimens per species and then used by a milling machine to cut foam models. These models were fitted with casts of the bill area, and their drag was compared with that of frozen specimens. Because of the roughness and vibration of the feathers, the drag of the frozen birds was 2–6 times that of the models. Plots of drag coefficient (C(D)) versus Reynolds number (Re) differed between the model and the frozen birds, with the pattern of difference varying with body shape. Thus, the drag of cast models or similar featherless shapes can differ both quantitatively and qualitatively from that of real birds. On the basis of a new towing method with no posts or stings that alter flow or angles of attack, the dimensionless C(D)/Re curves differed among a size gradient of five auklet species (75–100g) with similar shapes. Thus, extrapolation of C(D)/Re curves among related species must be performed with caution. At lower speeds, the C(D) at a given Re was generally higher for long-necked birds that swim with their neck extended (cormorants, grebes, some ducks) than for birds that swim with their head retracted (penguins, alcids), but this trend was reversed at high speeds. Because swimming birds actually travel at a range of instantaneous speeds during oscillatory strokes, species variations in drag at different speeds must be considered in the context of accelerational stroking.

scholarly journals Visual attention mediates the relationship between body satisfaction and susceptibility to the body size adaptation effect

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. e0189855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian D. Stephen ◽  
Daniel Sturman ◽  
Richard J. Stevenson ◽  
Jonathan Mond ◽  
Kevin R. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Body Satisfaction ◽  
Adaptation Effect ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Relationship

AN ECOLOGIC STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEAN BIRTH WEIGHT, TEMPERATURE AND CALORIE CONSUMPTION LEVEL IN JAPAN

1998 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHINYA MATSUDA ◽  
MIZUHO FURUTA ◽  
HIROAKI KAHYO
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Birth Weight ◽  
The Body ◽  
Calorie Intake ◽  
Social Variables ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Calorie Consumption ◽  
Total Calorie ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Total Calorie Intake

This study reports an ecologic analysis of the relationship between mean birth weight (MBW) and nutritional, medical and social variables, using 1982 data for 47 prefectures in Japan.Correlation analysis showed that variables that correlated significantly with MBW were mean temperature (r=0·63), total calorie intake (r=0·56), and body mass index of women (r=0·60). It is concluded that the MBW level in a given community represents the long and short term nutritional condition of mothers, and that the level may follow Bergman’s law: ‘In the same species, the body size of an animal increases along with latitude; that is, the lower the temperature, the larger the body size’.

scholarly journals Assessment of Survival and Body Size Variation of Culicoides imicola (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) as Functions of “Candidatus Cardinium” (Bacteroidetes) Infection Status

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (20) ◽  
pp. 6260-6263 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Morag ◽  
B. A. Mullens ◽  
Y. Gottlieb
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Antibiotic Treatment ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Infection Status ◽  
Biting Midges ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Length Difference ◽  
Culicoides Imicola ◽  
Fitness Parameters

ABSTRACT“CandidatusCardinium hertigii” (Bacteroidetes) is a maternally inherited endosymbiont known from several arthropods. Its mechanisms for persistence in host populations are mostly reproductive manipulation, though it has been occasionally reported to improve fitness parameters in several hosts. InCulicoides(Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) biting midges, the prevalence of “CandidatusCardinium” infection was documented as moderate, with no detectable sex bias. We therefore investigated whether “CandidatusCardinium” affects important fitness parameters, such as survival and body size, inCulicoides imicola, a dominant vector species. Field-collected midges were trapped and analyzed for survival under different environmental conditions and antibiotic treatment, taking into account “CandidatusCardinium” infection status and parity status (i.e., parous or nulliparous). Additionally, wing lengths were measured as a proxy parameter for body size and analyzed together with “CandidatusCardinium” infection data. The findings revealed no difference in survival ofCulicoidesinfected with “CandidatusCardinium” and that of uninfected midges in both parity states and under all tested conditions: optimal, starvation, heat, and antibiotic treatment. Beyond survival, no wing length difference was found for “CandidatusCardinium”-infected versus uninfected midges. In aggregate, these findings support our conclusion that “CandidatusCardinium” does not have an overt effect on the survival and size of adultC. imicolamidges. “CandidatusCardinium” may affect immature stages or may alter adult reproductive performance.

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