Effect of population density on the development of Mesovelia furcata (Mesoveliidae), Microvelia reticulata and Velia caprai (Veliidae) (Heteroptera: Gerromorpha)

Title:

Effect of population density on the development of Mesovelia furcata (Mesoveliidae), Microvelia reticulata and Velia caprai (Veliidae) (Heteroptera: Gerromorpha)

Creator:

Ditrich, Tomáš and Papáček, Miroslav

Identifier:

https://cdk.lib.cas.cz/client/handle/uuid:fd4d01fd-cec1-42d4-aa4e-b172e05bb3c3
uuid:fd4d01fd-cec1-42d4-aa4e-b172e05bb3c3

Subject:

Population density, developmental rate, wing dimorphism, body size, oogenesis, Mesoveliidae, Veliidae, and Heteroptera

Type:

article, model:article, and TEXT

Description:

Population density during nymphal development affects body size, developmental rate and wing polymorphism in semiaquatic bugs. Nymphs from crowded habitats grow faster and thus gain an advantage in the later stadia. Rapid development results in smaller body size in several gerrids. Macropterous adults develop more frequently at high population densities in most species, which enables the bugs to leave crowded habitats. Three European widespread species Mesovelia furcata Mulsant & Rey, 1852 (Mesoveliidae), Microvelia reticulata Burmeister, 1835 and Velia caprai Tamanini, 1947 (Veliidae) were reared individually and simultaneously either at a low or high population density. Duration of postembryonic development, wing morph, body size and length of distal oocyte in females were recorded. High population density accelerates development in Mesovelia furcata and Microvelia reticulata. However, there was no trade-off between developmental rate and body size. Accelerated development without a decrease in body size was probably because maturation was delayed. Individually reared nymphs developed faster than nymphs from communal cohorts. No long-winged Microvelia reticulata specimen developed in any treatment. However, more macropterous individuals developed in high-density treatments in Mesovelia furcata (significant) and Velia caprai (not significant). All the nymphs of the species that were reared individually developed into apterous adults. The results suggest that population density strongly influences the life history of semiaquatic bugs. However, the only commonly shared response seems to be an increase in developmental rate when reared at high population densities. Other traits such as wing dimorphism, body size and rate of oogenesis differ at the species level.

Language:

English

Rights:

http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
policy:public

Source:

European Journal of Entomology | 2010 Volume:107 | Number:4

Harvested from:

CDK

Metadata only:

false