Fitness and body size in mature odonates

The relationship between body size and fitness components in odonates was examined using a meta‐analysis of 33 published studies. There was a positive and significant overall effect of body size on mating rate and lifetime mating success among males. There was also a weaker but still significant positive effect of body size on survivorship of males. The relationship between body size, mating rate, longevity, and lifetime mating success differed significantly between males of territorial and nonterritorial species. The effect of body size was significant for all fitness components in territorial species but significant only for longevity and lifetime mating success in nonterritorial species. Effect sizes appeared to be strongest on longevity in both sexes, and on male mating rate in territorial species. Other effect sizes, even when significant, were small. Despite a much smaller data set, female fitness also increased significantly with body size. Both clutch size and longevity showed a significant positive relationship with body size. These results suggest that there is a general fitness benefit to large size in odonates. Nevertheless, significant heterogeneity is apparent in this effect, which can be attributed to sex, mating system, and fitness component. Finally, these analyses point to inadequacies in the current data that need further study before the potentially rich patterns in size effects on fitness can be explored more thoroughly.

[1]  M. Ebbert.  The Evolution of Mating Systems in Insects and Arachnids , 1998 .

[2]  W. Koenig,et al.  Patterns of territoriality and mating success in the shite-tailed skimmer Plathemes lydia (Odonata: Anisoptera). , 1985 .

[3]  C. M. Lessells,et al.  The Evolution of Life Histories , 1994 .

[4]  M. Forbes,et al.  Susceptibility to parasitism : experiments with the damselfly Enallagma ebrium (Odonata : Coenagrionidae) and larval water mites, Arrenurus spp. (Acari : Arrenuridae) , 1990 .

[5]  R. Rosenthal.  Meta-analytic procedures for social research , 1984 .

[6]  J. Marden.  Bodybuilding Dragonflies: Costs and Benefits of Maximizing Flight Muscle , 1989, Physiological Zoology.

[7]  Michael J. Reiss,et al.  The allometry of growth and reproduction , 1989 .

[8]  G. Arnqvist,et al.  Meta-analysis: synthesizing research findings in ecology and evolution. , 1995, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[9]  M. Forbes.  Ectoparasites and mating success of male Enallagma ebrium damselflies (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) , 1991 .

[10]  Y. Tsubaki,et al.  Effects of age and body size on the male territorial system of the dragonfly, Nannophya pygmaea rambur (Odonata: Libellulidae) , 1987, Animal Behaviour.

[11]  Sex and habitat differences in feeding by an adult damselfly , 1992 .

[12]  G. Grether,et al.  SEXUAL SELECTION AND SURVIVAL SELECTION ON WING COLORATION AND BODY SIZE IN THE RUBYSPOT DAMSELFLY HETAERINA AMERICANA , 1996, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[13]  D. J. Thompson,et al.  The effects of size and residency on territorial disputes and short-term mating success in the damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Sulzer) (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae) , 1991, Animal Behaviour.

[14]  J. Marden,et al.  Patterns of mass gain and sexual dimorphism in adult dragonflies (Insecta:Odonata) , 1991 .

[15]  B. Crespi.  Size assessment and alternative fighting tactics in Elaphrothrips tuberculatus (Insecta: Thysanoptera) , 1986, Animal Behaviour.

[16]  C. Finch,et al.  Hormones and the Physiological Architecture of Life History Evolution , 1995, The Quarterly Review of Biology.

[17]  I. F. Harvey,et al.  Territorial behaviour of larvae enhances mating success of male dragonflies , 1985, Animal Behaviour.

[18]  R. Meldola.  Sexual Selection , 1871, Nature.

[19]  I. F. Harvey,et al.  Fluctuating asymmetry and lifetime mating success are correlated in males of the damselfly Coenagrion puella (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) , 1993 .

[20]  S. Leather.  Size, reproductive potential and fecundity in insects: things aren't as simple as they seem , 1988 .

[21]  T. Clutton‐Brock.  Reproductive success : studies of individual variation in contrasting breeding systems , 1989 .

[22]  J. Richardson,et al.  Effect of body size and feeding on fecundity in the damselfly Ischnura verticalis (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) , 1997 .

[23]  M. McPeek,et al.  LIFE HISTORIES AND THE STRENGTHS OF SPECIES INTERACTIONS: COMBINING MORTALITY, GROWTH, AND FECUNDITY EFFECTS , 1998 .

[24]  Allen J Moore,et al.  THE EVOLUTION OF SEXUAL DIMORPHISM BY SEXUAL SELECTION: THE SEPARATE EFFECTS OF INTRASEXUAL SELECTION AND INTERSEXUAL SELECTION , 1990, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[25]  B. Leung,et al.  Fluctuating asymmetry in relation to indices of quality and fitness in the damselfly, Enallagmaebrium (Hagen) , 1997, Oecologia.

[26]  L. Rowe,et al.  LIFE HISTORY AND BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO TIME CONSTRAINTS IN A DAMSELFLY , 1999 .

[27]  D. Fairbairn.  SEXUAL SELECTION FOR HOMOGAMY IN THE GERRIDAE: AN EXTENSION OF RIDLEY'S COMPARATIVE APPROACH , 1988, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[28]  D. J. Thompson,et al.  Lifetime reproductive success of females of the Damselfly Coenagrion puella , 1987 .

[29]  L. Rowe,et al.  The lek paradox and the capture of genetic variance by condition dependent traits , 1996, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[30]  M. Wade,et al.  THE EVOLUTION OF INSECT MATING SYSTEMS. , 1984, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[31]  B. Peckarsky,et al.  Sublethal Consequences of Stream‐Dwelling Predatory Stoneflies on Mayfly Growth and Fecundity , 1993 .

[32]  J. V. Buskirk.  Influence of Size and Date of Emergence on Male Survival and Mating Success in a Dragonfly, Sympetrum rubicundulum , 1987 .

[33]  A. Honěk,et al.  Intraspecific variation in body size and fecundity in insects: a general relationship , 1993 .

[34]  D. Berrigan.  The allometry of egg size and number in insects , 1991 .

[35]  C. Klingenberg,et al.  On the role of body size for life‐history evolution , 1997 .

[36]  B. Anholt.  Sexual size dimorphism and sex‐specific survival in adults of the damselfly Lestes disjunctus , 1997 .

[37]  B. Anholt.  MEASURING SELECTION ON A POPULATION OF DAMSELFLIES WITH A MANIPULATED PHENOTYPE , 1991, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[38]  O. Fincke,et al.  LIFETIME REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SELECTION IN A NONTERRITORIAL DAMSELFLY (ODONATA: COENAGRIONIDAE) , 1986, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[39]  E. Kasuya,et al.  Territorial Conflicts in Males of the Dragonfly, Orthetrum japonicum japonicum (Odonata: Libellulidae): The Role of Body Size , 1997 .

[40]  R. Hanka.  The Handbook of Research Synthesis , 1994 .

[41]  Jessica Gurevitch,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of Competition in Field Experiments , 1992, The American Naturalist.

[42]  W. Koenig,et al.  LIFETIME REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS, SELECTION, AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SELECTION IN THE WHITE‐TAILED SKIMMER PLATHEMIS LYDIA (ODONATA: LIBELLULIDAE) , 1987, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[43]  J. Marden,et al.  Escalated damselfly territorial contests are energetic wars of attrition , 1990, Animal Behaviour.

[44]  R. Johnstone.  SEXUAL SELECTION, HONEST ADVERTISEMENT AND THE HANDICAP PRINCIPLE: REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE , 1995, Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.

[45]  A. Cordero.  Correlates of male mating success in two natural populations of the damselfly lschnura graellsii (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) , 1995 .

[46]  D. J. Thompson,et al.  Lifetime mating success in the damselfly Coenagrion puella , 1985, Animal Behaviour.

[47]  L. Rowe,et al.  Analysis of the causal components of assortative mating in water striders , 1996, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[48]  K. F. Conrad.  Relationships of larval phenology and imaginal size to male pairing success in Argia vivida Hagen , 1992 .

[49]  F. Kasule.  Associations of fecundity with adult size in the cotton stainer bug Dysdercus fasciatus , 1991, Heredity.

[50]  W. Koenig.  Levels of Female Choice in the White-Tailed Skimmer Plathemis Lydia (Odonata: Libellulidae) , 1991 .

[51]  O. Fincke.  Consequences of Larval Ecology for Territoriality and Reproductive Success of a Neotropical Damselfly , 1992 .