Body temperature and body size affect flight performance in a damselfly |
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Authors: | Yuka Samejima Yoshitaka Tsubaki |
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Institution: | (1) Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 2-509-3 Hirano, Otsu, Shiga, Japan |
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Abstract: | Flight performance is undoubtedly an important factor for behavioral success in flying insects. Though it is well-known that
the flight performance is influenced by body temperature and body size, the relative importance of these factors is not well-understood.
We performed laboratory experiments using the male-polymorphic damselfly Mnais costalis with larger territorial males and smaller non-territorial males in a population. We analyzed the effects of body temperature
and body size, measured as the thoracic temperature and left hind-wing length, respectively, on two indices of flight performance:
maximum lifting force and size-corrected lifting force. The latter is an index of acceleration that is related to aerial agility.
The results showed that higher body temperature produced both larger maximum lifting force and larger size-corrected lifting
force. In contrast, while larger size produced a larger maximum lifting force, it produced a lower size-corrected lifting
force. The results of field measurements showed that territorial males had variable thoracic temperatures depending on the
insolation in their territories. In contrast, non-territorial males had less variable and generally higher thoracic temperatures
than territorial males as they are mostly found in sunny spots. Until now, the influence of body temperature on behavioral
performance has remained unclear although considerable studies have suggested such influence. We showed, here, for the first
time, combined effects of body size and body temperature on flight performance. We also showed that body temperature was influenced
by the mating strategies of a damselfly. These findings provide new insights into the cost and benefits of territorial behavior
in ectothermic animals. |
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