Effects of initial (larval) size and host body temperature on growth in trematodes

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 574-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Poulin ◽  
A David M. Latham
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Temperature ◽  
Adult Stage ◽  
Species Variation ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Model Group ◽  
Larval Size ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Adult Body

For ectotherms, temperature is an important correlate of variation in body size within species. Variation in body size among related species could also be attributable in part to temperature if the different species grow under different thermal regimes. The roles of both initial (larval) size and host body temperature on final (adult) size of parasitic trematodes were investigated in a comparative analysis. Trematodes are a good model group for such a study, with almost half of known species growing at high and constant temperatures in endothermic vertebrates and the rest at lower and fluctuating temperatures in ectothermic vertebrates. The relative growth of trematodes, i.e., their growth relative to the size of their larvae, varied greatly among species. Increases in body size from the cercarial larval stage to the adult stage averaged almost 40-fold (maximum 1300-fold), whereas increases in size from the metacercarial stage to the adult stage averaged 6-fold (maximum 110-fold). There were no differences between trematodes in ectothermic hosts and trematodes in endothermic hosts with respect to these measures of relative growth, however, which suggests that host type and the thermal regime provided by the host have no effect on the growth of trematodes from larval to adult stages. In contrast, the final (adult) body size of trematodes appears to be determined to some extent by their initial (larval) size, independently of the type of host in which they developed.

scholarly journals Exploring the Role of Insulin Signaling in Relative Growth: A Case Study on Wing-Body Scaling in Lepidoptera

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 1324-1337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Z McKenna ◽  
Della Tao ◽  
H Frederik Nijhout
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Insulin Signaling ◽  
The Body ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Tor Signaling ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Laboratory Populations ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Specific Variation ◽  
Wing Growth

Abstract Adult forms emerge from the relative growth of the body and its parts. Each appendage and organ has a unique pattern of growth that influences the size and shape it attains. This produces adult size relationships referred to as static allometries, which have received a great amount of attention in evolutionary and developmental biology. However, many questions remain unanswered, for example: What sorts of developmental processes coordinate growth? And how do these processes change given variation in body size? It has become increasingly clear that nutrition is one of the strongest influences on size relationships. In insects, nutrition acts via insulin/TOR signaling to facilitate inter- and intra-specific variation in body size and appendage size. Yet, the mechanism by which insulin signaling influences the scaling of growth remains unclear. Here we will discuss the potential roles of insulin signaling in wing-body scaling in Lepidoptera. We analyzed the growth of wings in animals reared on different diet qualities that induce a range of body sizes not normally present in our laboratory populations. By growing wings in tissue culture, we survey how perturbation and stimulation of insulin/TOR signaling influences wing growth. To conclude, we will discuss the implications of our findings for the development and evolution of organismal form.

Effect of larval body size on overwinter survival and emerging adult size in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus investigator

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (9) ◽  
pp. 1588-1593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary J Smith
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Survival Data ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Larval Size ◽  
Overwinter Survival

Body size may influence both adult fecundity and the probability of survival through each life stage. Previous studies of burying beetles (Nicrophorus, Coleoptera: Silphidae) have revealed reproductive advantages for larger adults and the role of parental care in determining larval size and number. In this study I measure the effect of size on survival over the winter period and the correlation between larval size and the size of emerging adults. I collected data from 24 groups of 20–25 larvae sorted by size and overwintered outside under natural conditions in Colorado, U.S.A. There was a significant positive correlation between larval size and adult size at emergence and a significant effect of size on overwinter survival. Data from 2 years yielded the following mean survival rates: small, 47.3 ± 1.0%; medium, 73.2 ± 0.7%; large, 85.7 ± 0.4%. These values were then used to accurately predict adult emergence from broods of larvae whose range of size was measured prior to the overwinter period. The results indicate that selection for large body size may result from an overwinter survival advantage and not just from reproductive success. This has implications for fitness models of parental care and models of population dynamics.

scholarly journals Correlated and decoupled evolution of adult and larval body size in frogs

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1933) ◽  
pp. 20201474
Author(s):  
Tung X. Phung ◽  
João C. S. Nascimento ◽  
Alexander J. Novarro ◽  
John J. Wiens
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Major Group ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Larval Body ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Rates Of Evolution ◽  
Adult Body ◽  
Body Sizes

The majority of animal species have complex life cycles, in which larval stages may have very different morphologies and ecologies relative to adults. Anurans (frogs) provide a particularly striking example. However, the extent to which larval and adult morphologies (e.g. body size) are correlated among species has not been broadly tested in any major group. Recent studies have suggested that larval and adult morphology are evolutionarily decoupled in frogs, but focused within families and did not compare the evolution of body sizes. Here, we test for correlated evolution of adult and larval body size across 542 species from 42 families, including most families with a tadpole stage. We find strong phylogenetic signal in larval and adult body sizes, and find that both traits are significantly and positively related across frogs. However, this relationship varies dramatically among clades, from strongly positive to weakly negative. Furthermore, rates of evolution for both variables are largely decoupled among clades. Thus, some clades have high rates of adult body-size evolution but low rates in tadpole body size (and vice versa). Overall, we show for the first time that body sizes are generally related between adult and larval stages across a major group, even as evolutionary rates of larval and adult size are largely decoupled among species and clades.

scholarly journals Geographical variation in larval host-plant use by Heliconius erato (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and consequences for adult life history

2002 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. RODRIGUES ◽  
G. R. P. MOREIRA
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Larval Stage ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Geographical Variation ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Experimental Station ◽  
Female Body Size ◽  
Adult Body

Adult body size, one of the most important life-history components, varies strongly within and between Heliconius erato phyllis (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) populations. This study determines if this variation is caused by geographical changes in host-plant used by the larval stage, whose reproductive parameters are influenced by female body size, with estimates of the corresponding heritability. The variation in adult body size was determined together with a survey of passion vine species (Passifloraceae) used by the larvae in seven localities in Rio Grande do Sul State: three located in the urban area of Porto Alegre and Triunfo Counties, two within Eucalyptus plantations (Barba Negra Forest, Barra do Ribeiro County, and Águas Belas Experimental Station -- Viamão County), one in a Myrtaceae Forest (Itapuã State Park -- Itapuã County) and one in the Atlantic Rain Forest (Maquiné Experimental Station -- Maquiné County). Effects of female body size on fecundity, egg size and egg viability were determined in an outdoor insectary. Size heritability was estimated by rearing in the laboratory offspring of individuals maintained in an insectary. The data showed that adults from populations where larvae feed only upon Passiflora suberosa are smaller than those that feed on Passiflora misera. The larvae prefer P. misera even when the dominant passion vine in a given place is P. suberosa. Fecundity increases linearly with the increase in size of females, but there is no size effect on egg size or viability. Size heritability is null for the adult size range occurring in the field. Thus, the geographical variation of H. erato phyllis adult size is primarily determined by the type, corresponding availability and quality of host-plants used by the larval stage. Within the natural size range of H. erato phyllis, the variation related to this caracter is not genetically based, thus being part of H. erato phyllis phenotypic plasticity.

scholarly journals The ecological genetics of growth in Drosophila 6. The genetic correlation between the duration of the larval period and body size in relation to larval diet.

1963 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Forbes W. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Development Time ◽  
Larval Growth ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Ecological Genetics ◽  
Larval Period ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Critical Stage ◽  
Larval Size

1. The low but regular positive correlation between body-size and the duration of the larval period in populations of D. melanogaster has been studied by selecting for large size or shorter development time on aseptic defined diets deficient in RNA and comparing the results with parallel selection on unrestricted yeast diets or on media in which RNA is not a limiting factor.2. There is a striking contrast according to the nature of the diet during selection. On unrestricted diets and where RNA is adequate there is little or no evidence of correlation between the two characters, but on low RNA media there is a striking correlation whether selection is for large body size or shorter development time.3. This contrast is accounted for in terms of particular changes in larval growth which can be divided into a first stage of growth to a critical size in the early 3rd instar and a second stage thereafter. The duration of the first stage can be greatly prolonged by inadequate diet but the duration of the later stage appears to be virtually unaffected by such variation although the amount of growth and hence final body-size, may be drastically reduced. The different diets which lead to presence or absence of correlation have enabled selection either to extend the growing period, so that the critical stage is reached later at a larger larval size, or to accelerate the growth rate in the later stage.4. Variation in the final stage of growth predominates on unrestricted diets and is responsible for the greater part of the variation in body size in unselected populations. Stabilization of body-size about an intermediate optimum refers especially to growth in this later stage.5. Lines selected for fast development on low RNA media are especially sensitive to minor nutritional variation. Probably only under rather special conditions is it possible to shorten the duration of the larval period and this is compatible with the importance of development time in fitness generally.6. There is evidence that the restriction of early growth, in the 2nd instar, reduces the size of the 3rd instar mouth-parts. Such reduction is correlated with changes in adult size probably because smaller mouth-parts restrict food intake.7. The pattern of larval growth suggests a flexible system which can be adjusted to different ecological conditions since the same body-size can be attained by adjusting the amount of growth effected before or after the critical stage. Differ ences in this respect will involve characteristic differences in reaction to environ mental variation and particular nutritional conditions are likely to influence the way in which adaptive changes are realized.

Causes of variation in body size and consequences for the life history of Sitodiplosis mosellana

2004 ◽  
Vol 136 (6) ◽  
pp. 839-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A.H. Smith ◽  
R.J. Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Larval Instar ◽  
Larval Density ◽  
Egg Parasitoid ◽  
The Body ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Larval Size ◽  
Sitodiplosis Mosellana ◽  
Developing Seed

AbstractThe body sizes of mature larvae and adults from field and laboratory populations of the wheat midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), were measured to determine possible causes of variation in size and consequences of such variation through the life history. Mature larvae varied eightfold in mass. Female larvae were 80% heavier than males, on average. Variation in mass was associated with both the position of larvae on a wheat spike and the number feeding together on a developing seed. Larvae were 9% smaller when they developed on smaller, later developing seeds and 15%–18% smaller when they competed with five other larvae on an average-sized seed. Fewer small larvae survived winter. Larval density per infested seed increased with number of larvae per spike, suggesting that larval size may have density-dependent population effects. Small larvae produced few adults of Macroglenes penetrans (Kirby) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), an egg parasitoid that overwinters as a larva in the third larval instar of S. mosellana. These effects were probably due to size, but sex may also have been a factor. The size of adults, measured by wing and abdomen length, was also variable, although less so than the size of larvae. Adult size was not associated with time of emergence and both large and small females dispersed, but female fecundity (4–105 mature eggs per individual) increased with body size.

Life-history variation in Neomysis mercedis Holmes (Crustacea, Mysidacea) in the Fraser River estuary, British Columbia

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. T. Johnston ◽  
T. G. Northcote
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Tidal Marshes ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Life History Variation ◽  
Adult Body Size ◽  
Adult Body

The brackish-water mysid Neomysis mercedis in tidal marshes of the Fraser River produced overwintering and summer generations that differed in life-history traits. Summer generation females matured at a smaller size and produced fewer and larger eggs than the overwintering generation. Size-adjusted clutch weights were identical for summer and overwintering females. Reproductive effort was slightly lower for the overwintering females. Both generations were iteroparous, but the average frequency of breeding was higher for the overwintering generation. Seasonal variations in reproductive traits were strongly linked to fluctuations in the relative mortality rates of neonates and adults. Overwintering adults that bred in late spring had lower mortality rates than neonates, while mortality rates for summer adults were higher than those for neonates. Rearing suggested that changes in adult body size were a phenotypic response to temperature. Food availability had little additional effect on adult body size. A positive correlation between ambient water temperatures and the increase in mortality with increasing adult size provided a possible mechanism through which temperature-dependent phenotypic variation in adult body size could be selected.

scholarly journals Regulation of Body Size and Growth Control

Genetics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 216 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Texada ◽  
Takashi Koyama ◽  
Kim Rewitz
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Tissue Growth ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Juvenile Growth ◽  
Organ Growth ◽  
Regulatory Pathways ◽  
Adult Body Size ◽  
Steroid Signaling ◽  
Adult Body

The control of body and organ growth is essential for the development of adults with proper size and proportions, which is important for survival and reproduction. In animals, adult body size is determined by the rate and duration of juvenile growth, which are influenced by the environment. In nutrient-scarce environments in which more time is needed for growth, the juvenile growth period can be extended by delaying maturation, whereas juvenile development is rapidly completed in nutrient-rich conditions. This flexibility requires the integration of environmental cues with developmental signals that govern internal checkpoints to ensure that maturation does not begin until sufficient tissue growth has occurred to reach a proper adult size. The Target of Rapamycin (TOR) pathway is the primary cell-autonomous nutrient sensor, while circulating hormones such as steroids and insulin-like growth factors are the main systemic regulators of growth and maturation in animals. We discuss recent findings in Drosophila melanogaster showing that cell-autonomous environment and growth-sensing mechanisms, involving TOR and other growth-regulatory pathways, that converge on insulin and steroid relay centers are responsible for adjusting systemic growth, and development, in response to external and internal conditions. In addition to this, proper organ growth is also monitored and coordinated with whole-body growth and the timing of maturation through modulation of steroid signaling. This coordination involves interorgan communication mediated by Drosophila insulin-like peptide 8 in response to tissue growth status. Together, these multiple nutritional and developmental cues feed into neuroendocrine hubs controlling insulin and steroid signaling, serving as checkpoints at which developmental progression toward maturation can be delayed. This review focuses on these mechanisms by which external and internal conditions can modulate developmental growth and ensure proper adult body size, and highlights the conserved architecture of this system, which has made Drosophila a prime model for understanding the coordination of growth and maturation in animals.

Capture of conspecific planktonic larvae by the suspension-feeding gastropod Crepipatella peruviana: association between adult and larval size

2021 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
G A Rivera-Figueroa ◽  
J A Büchner-Miranda ◽  
L P Salas-Yanquin ◽  
J A Montory ◽  
V M Cubillos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Larval Mortality ◽  
Feeding Preference ◽  
The Other ◽  
Suspension Feeding ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Larval Size ◽  
Suspension Feeders ◽  
Planktonic Larvae

ABSTRACT Free-living, planktonic larvae can be vulnerable to capture and ingestion by adult suspension-feeders. This is particularly the case for larvae that settle gregariously in benthic environments where suspension-feeders occur at high densities. Larvae of gregarious suspension-feeding species are at particularly high risk, as adults of their own species often serve as cues for metamorphosis. We conducted laboratory experiments to assess the extent to which adults of the suspension-feeding caenogastropod Crepipatella peruviana would capture and ingest their own larvae. Experiments were conducted with adults of different sizes, with larvae of different ages and sizes, and in the presence or absence of phytoplankton. Adults captured larvae in all experiments. The presence of microalgae in the water did not influence the extent of larval capture. On average, 39% of larvae were captured during the 3-h feeding periods, regardless of adult size. However, up to 34% of the larvae that were captured on the gill were later discarded as pseudofaeces; the other 64% were ingested. The extent of capture by adults was not related to adult size, or to larval size and, thus, to larval age. Our results suggest that the filtration of congeneric larvae by adult C. peruviana is a result of accidental capture rather than a deliberate feeding preference. Such ingestion could, however, still be an important source of larval mortality, especially when the advanced larvae of this species are searching for a suitable substrate for metamorphosis.

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