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Eco-physiological Causes and Consequences of Sexually Selected Color Variation in Dragonflies

Moore, Michael P.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1559907185842415

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Biology.
Many animals use elaborate adult traits to attract mates and intimidate rivals. However, the development of these sexually selected traits, and the reproductive interactions that confer their benefits, occur against a complex backdrop of environmental factors. When such features of the habitat modify the costs and benefits of displaying and developing these traits, environmental variation across space and time can shape their diversification. Likewise, sexual selection on these characters may have consequences for how organisms interact with and adapt to different ecological contexts. Here, I explore these themes by investigating the interplay between sexually selected coloration, the external environment, and physiology in dragonflies. I begin by examining the adaptive function of wing pigmentation in a dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis), finding that this trait is intrasexually selected. Using this dragonfly system, I then document how interactions between the environment and an organism’s physiological state can drive the divergence in its sexually selected wing coloration. I first show that thermal physiology causes the performance benefits of wing coloration to depend on ambient temperature, and, as a result, males in the warmest parts of North America nearly lack this trait all together. I next illustrate how improving an individual’s physiological condition to develop better sexually selected coloration can harm its juvenile survival in the presence of predators. I then consider how sexual selection could feed back to influence ecological adaptation by examining links between wing coloration and immune defense. I find that, in addition to several important ecological costs of deploying immune defenses during the larval stage (e.g. predation vulnerability, delayed emergence), producing a strong immune response directly inhibits wing color development. Moreover, when comparing across species, I show that those species with more wing coloration tend to have weaker immune responses. Thus, due to proximate trade-offs with immune defense, sexual selection on wing coloration can slow ecological adaptation, or even potentially drive maladaptation, to parasites and pathogens. Overall, this work demonstrates how eco-physiology may be an important nexus for the ecological causes and consequences of sexually selected trait variation.
Ryan Martin, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Sarah Diamond, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Michael Benard, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Patrick Lorch, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
246 p.
Biology; Ecology; Entomology; Evolution and Development; Morphology; Organismal Biology; Physiology; Zoology
odonate; melanin; temperature; sexual selection; natural selection; ontogenetic conflict; life history; eco-immunology; predators; performance

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Moore, M. P. (2019). Eco-physiological Causes and Consequences of Sexually Selected Color Variation in Dragonflies [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1559907185842415

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Moore, Michael. Eco-physiological Causes and Consequences of Sexually Selected Color Variation in Dragonflies. 2019. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1559907185842415.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Moore, Michael. "Eco-physiological Causes and Consequences of Sexually Selected Color Variation in Dragonflies." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1559907185842415

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1559907185842415
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© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.