SEASONAL VARIATION IN BODY SIZE AND REPRODUCTIVE CONDITION OF A PAPER WASP, POLISTES METRICUS (HYMENOPTERA: VESPIDAE)

1980 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance M. Haggard ◽  
George J. Gamboa

AbstractSeasonal morphometric analysis of 788 adult Polistes metricus Say showed that: (1) Queens sampled throughout the colony cycle were of similar body size but significantly smaller than fall gynes. (2) Queens’ ovaries are large in the spring, decline early in the colony cycle, peak near the mid-postemergence period and decline late in the colony cycle. (3) There are no significant correlations between head width, ovary width, and size of nest in workers or queens. (4) Early and late workers are small but workers emerging during the mid-postemergence period are large. (5) All workers and gynes emerge with small, similar sized ovaries but older workers may develop larger ovaries. (6) Queens are larger than early and late workers but the same size as workers emerging during the mid-postemergence period. (7) The class with the largest adults were intermediates collected when colonies began production of males. These adults, intermediate in fat content between workers and gynes, comprised a large proportion of females emerging late in the colony cycle. (8) The body size of gynes is independent of colony size. (9) Males were significantly more variable in body size than gynes.

1981 ◽  
Vol 113 (6) ◽  
pp. 457-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Dropkin ◽  
George J. Gamboa

AbstractIn the paper wasp, Polistes metricus Say, subordinates and single foundresses of early colonies (< 16 days old) nesting in the same habitat were very similar in size, reproductive condition, and probability of being fertilized suggesting that these types of foundresses are comparable in reproductive potential. Queens of multiple foundress, early colonies were significantly larger, had larger ovaries, and more oocytes than their subordinates. In late colonies (> 30 days old) the differences in reproductive condition between queens and their subordinates were more pronounced. Reproductive condition and body size are likely to be important characters for sorting foundresses into hierarchies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-349
Author(s):  
Marco A.L. Zuffi ◽  
Elena Foschi

From 1996 to 2002, we studied the body size, measures of reproductive strategy (relative clutch mass and delayed reproduction at sexual maturity), and reproductive output (clutch frequency and annual egg production) of female European Pond turtles,Emys orbicularis, at two sites separated by 12 km in central Mediterranean Tuscany (San Rossore and Camp Darby, central northern Italy). Females did not reproduce at the first appearance of external sexual characters, but reproduced at larger sizes, probably as older turtles. Among years, reproductive females were more common than were non-reproductive females, yet both groups had similar body sizes. Body size (carapace length and width, plastron length and width, shell height and body mass) varied between localities and among years. Body size differed between reproductive and non reproductive females in Camp Darby, but not in San Rossore females. Shell volume did not vary among years, nor between localities, nor between reproductive status. Reproductive females had higher body condition indices (BCI) than did non-reproductive females, while BCI did not differ between females laying one clutch and females laying multiple clutches. Clutch size did not vary among years. One clutch per year was much more frequent than multiple clutches, and multiple clutches were more frequent in Camp Darby than in San Rossore females, likely due to differences in population structures between sites.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radomir Jaskuła ◽  
Mateusz Płóciennik ◽  
Axel Schwerk

In south-eastern Europe, especially in lowland areas located close to the sea coast, the diversity of Cicindelidae is one of the highest in the entire Palaearctic realm. This is both because of geological history of the region and the presence of large mosaic of habitats attractive for these beetles. As a result in the region about 25% of all Palaearctic species of tiger beetles can be found, including endemics. Many of them can be characterized by narrow or very narrow habitat preferences occurring only in one or two types of macrohabitats. In the present study sexual dimorphism of six species of tiger beetles (Calomera littoralis, C. fischeri, Cephalota circumdata, C. chiloleuca, Cylindera trisignata trisignata, Myriochila melancholica) collected along the sea coast of the Black and Mediterranean Seas was studied based on eight body parameters (right mandible length, length of head, width of head, length of pronotum, maximum pronotum width, length of elytra, maximum elytra width, and total body length.). Moreover, patterns of species co-occurrence on the basis of body size were investigated. As results we found significant sexual dimorphism indicated by larger body size of females and longer mandibles in males of the studied Cicindelidae species, what can be explained by different roles of the particular sexes in courtship (females invest much more energy in the reproduction process than males, e.g. to produce eggs or to find a good place to deposit them, as a result bigger size is much more beneficial for this sex). Moreover, we discovered that in the studied area tiger beetle species characterized by similar body size avoid each other and do not occur in the same areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1965) ◽  
Author(s):  
Héctor Tejero-Cicuéndez ◽  
Marc Simó-Riudalbas ◽  
Iris Menéndez ◽  
Salvador Carranza

Island colonists are often assumed to experience higher levels of phenotypic diversification than continental taxa. However, empirical evidence has uncovered exceptions to this ‘island effect’. Here, we tested this pattern using the geckos of the genus Pristurus from continental Arabia and Africa and the Socotra Archipelago. Using a recently published phylogeny and an extensive morphological dataset, we explore the differences in phenotypic evolution between Socotran and continental taxa. Moreover, we reconstructed ancestral habitat occupancy to examine if ecological specialization is correlated with morphological change, comparing phenotypic disparity and trait evolution between habitats. We found a heterogeneous outcome of island colonization. Namely, only one of the three colonization events resulted in a body size increase. However, in general, Socotran species do not present higher levels or rates of morphological diversification than continental groups. Instead, habitat specialization explains better the body size and shape evolution in Pristurus . Particularly, the colonization of ground habitats appears as the main driver of morphological change, producing the highest disparity and evolutionary rates. Additionally, arboreal species show very similar body size and head proportions. These results reveal a determinant role of ecological mechanisms in morphological evolution and corroborate the complexity of ecomorphological dynamics in continent–island systems.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena M. Grześ ◽  
Mateusz Okrutniak ◽  
Gracjan Antosik

Metal pollution may cause the decrease in the individual body size. In ants, the morphological diversity within and between colonies may be much higher than that considered before, even in monomorphic ants. In this study we measured the body size, expressed as head width, ofLasius nigerworkers collected from 44 young colonies in their ergonomic stage along a well-known gradient exhibiting chronic metal pollution. We calculated statistics describing the body size distribution curve, namely, average, median, data range, skewness, and kurtosis. None of these statistics correlated with the pollution level. Contrary to our previous study performed on mature colonies, workers from young colonies do not display pollution-related morphological changes. The results stress the importance of developmental stage of colony on diversifying body size of the worker cast, in monomorphic ants living in metal-polluted areas.


Sociobiology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 576
Author(s):  
Eliza Siqueira Campos ◽  
Thayane Nogueira Araujo ◽  
Laíce Souza Rabelo ◽  
Esther Margarida Alves Bastos ◽  
Solange Cristina Augusto

Tetrapedia curvitarsis Friese is a widely distributed species, frequently attracted by trap-nests. Previous studies have revealed a higher frequency of nesting in the wet season and dimorphism between the sexes, with females exhibiting larger body size than males. We evaluated the effects of seasonality on the production of nests, food niche, and body size of T. curvitarsis. The study was conducted from April 2009 to March 2010 and from April 2012 to March 2013 at the Água Limpa Experimental Station, located in the Triângulo Mineiro, Minas Gerais State. The number of cells was positively correlated with length and diameter of trap-nests. However, the number of nests and the number of cells produced did not differed between the seasons. The females demonstrated a larger head width than males and both presented greater body size in the wet season. However, there was no interaction between sex and season. A higher food niche breadth was observed in the wet season and low similarity in the use of pollen sources between seasons (PS=39.05%). Thus, it is concluded that the season has no effect on the production of nests or cells, but rather on the body size of males and females and food niche breadth. The production of smaller individuals in the dry season could be related not only to the quantity but also the quality of food offered to immature bees.


2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Campos ◽  
Francisco Gutiérrez-Corchero ◽  
M. Angeles Hernández ◽  
Jesús López-Fldalgo

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
ARIS WINAYA ◽  
MAFTUCHAH ◽  
CARLA MOROS NICOLÁS ◽  
DWI PRASETYO

Abstract. Winaya A, Maftuchah, Nicolas CM, Prasetyo D. 2020. Morphometric variations of Asian Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus Hermaphroditus, Pallas 1777) from Bali Island, Indonesia as the basis of morphometrics diversity data. Biodiversitas 21: 1027-1034. Asian Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, Pallas 1777) is one of the small carnivores that also lives in Bali island, Indonesia. Civets can process coffee beans by fermenting them in the digestive tract, so the coffee beans have a unique aroma. This coffee product, commonly known as Kopi Luwak, is the most expensive type of coffee in the world. The purposes of this study were to obtain the morphometric variations, genetic diversity, and genetic relationship of Bali civets. In this study, we involved 73 civets from four different areas (Bangli, Tabanan, Gianyar, and Denpasar) of Bali Islands, Indonesia. The quantitative character was the body size of animals, and the qualitative character was their hair color. The body size among populations was not significantly different (P>0.05). The complete canonical structure analysis showed that tail length (1.04) and body length (0.76) in canonical 1 and body height (0.96) and head width (0.94) in canonical 2 could be used as a group differentiator. The genetic distance among Bali civets was categorized as close except Bangli civets having far distance than others.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Sławomir Mitrus ◽  
Bartłomiej Najbar ◽  
Adam Kotowicz ◽  
Anna Najbar
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  

Author(s):  
Adrian Marciszak ◽  
Yuriy Semenov ◽  
Piotr Portnicki ◽  
Tamara Derkach

AbstractCranial material ofPachycrocuta brevirostrisfrom the late Early Pleistocene site of Nogaisk is the first record of this species in Ukraine. This large hyena was a representative of the Tamanian faunal complex and a single specialised scavenger in these faunas. The revisited European records list ofP.brevirostrisdocumented the presence of this species in 101 sites, dated in the range of 3.5–0.4 Ma. This species first disappeared in Africa, survived in Europe until ca. 0.8–0.7 Ma, and its last, relict occurrence was known from south-eastern Asia. The main reason of extinction ofP.brevirostrisprobably was the competition withCrocuta crocuta. The cave hyena was smaller, but its teeth were proportionally larger to the body size, better adapted to crushing bones and slicing meat, and could also hunt united in larger groups.


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