A comparative perspective on longevity: the effect of body size dominates over ecology in moths

Holm, Sille; Davis, Robert Β.; Javoiš, Juhan; Õunap, Erki; Kaasik, Ants; Molleman, Freerk; Tammaru, Toomas

doi:10.1111/jeb.12966

Cited by 37 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…Unfortunately, the DNA sequences available are not sufficient to generate a well‐resolved phylogeny for the numerous species used in this study. Even the most up‐to‐date phylogeny presented by Holm et al () covers only 50% of the genera of this study. We therefore chose to repeat the analysis described above for the two largest monophyletic subfamilies (Larentiinae and Sterrhinae, making up 63% and 31% of the complete data set, respectively), to evaluate whether the results are consistent within these subfamilies (see Supporting Information Appendix S6).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 74%

The dark side of Lepidoptera: Colour lightness of geometrid moths decreases with increasing latitude

Heidrich

Frieß

Fiedler

et al. 2018

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim The observed decrease in insect colour lightness with increasing latitude has been explained in earlier macroecological studies by the increased solar absorption of dark coloration, which allows extended periods of activity. However, melanin‐based dark coloration also protects against pathogens and ultraviolet radiation, which select for dark coloration at low latitudes where these selection pressures intensify. In nocturnal insects, the relative importance of these protective functions of dark coloration is expected to surpass thermoregulatory functions, as nocturnal species cannot benefit from extended periods of activity during the daytime. Hence, we expected that diurnal and nocturnal insects show contrasting geographical patterns of colour lightness. We tested these predictions using geometrid moths, which comprise both diurnal and nocturnal species. Location Western Palearctic. Time period Contemporary. Major taxa studied Geometridae (Lepidoptera). Methods We used digital image analysis to assess the colour lightness of 637 species, compiled their distribution across 3,777 grid cells of 50 km × 50 km and calculated the assemblage‐based average colour lightness. We used multiple regressions, autoregressive error models and randomizations to test for relationships between colour lightness and environmental variables associated with the thermal environment, putative pathogen pressure and ultraviolet radiation. Results We found a clear decrease in colour lightness of assemblages of both diurnal and nocturnal moth species with increasing latitude. In every model, solar radiation was the most important predictor of colour lightness; that is, colour lightness consistently increased with increasing solar radiation. Main conclusions These results indicate that the thermal environment is the most influential climatic driver of insect colour lightness—independent of thermoregulatory strategy and nocturnal or diurnal activity. This challenges the view that extended periods of activity are the main selection pressure for geographical variation in insect colour lightness. Consequently, the relationship between insect colour lightness and the thermal environment might be more general than previously thought.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 74%

The dark side of Lepidoptera: Colour lightness of geometrid moths decreases with increasing latitude

Heidrich

Frieß

Fiedler

et al. 2018

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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“…Carryover effects, defined as consequences of larval hostplant quality on reproductive output of adult females, are more important in capital breeders, which rely exclusively on larval accumulated resources, than in income breeders, which feed as adults or receive male nutrients while in copula (Jervis et al, 2005). In capital breeders, carryover effects of plant quality translate into large size of females at pupation/adult emergence, which correlate positively with fitness components, including fecundity (Rhainds, 2015;Davis et al, 2016), lifespan (Holm et al, 2016;Meister et al, 2018), mating contest outcomes (Bath et al, 2015;Joel et al, 2017), and mating success (Rhainds, 2010;Gwynne & Lorch, 2013;de Cock et al, 2014).…”

Section: Carryover Host-plant Effects On Fmfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology of female mating failure/lifelong virginity: a review of causal mechanisms in insects and arachnids

Rhainds

2019

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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Sexual reproduction implies binary outcomes of competitive interactions for access to male gametes: lifelong virgin females with null fitness vs. mated females with variable (generally nonzero) fitness. Female mating failure has long remained a dormant concept in sexual selection theory in part because it is acutely maladaptive (lifelong virgins that do not reproduce are strongly selected against) and also due to widespread acceptance of the Bateman–Trivers paradigm (anisogamy and correlated sex roles). Based on recent scientific output on lifelong virginity across multiple taxonomic groups in insects (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Orthoptera, Strepsiptera), female mating failure has become a mainstay of sexual selection over the last decade. Lifelong virginity and senescence (death) are intertwined processes; old virgin females compensate for increased risk of lifelong virginity by becoming less choosy and increasing investment in mating‐related activities. Low rates of female lifelong virginity (<5%) in most natural populations of insects indicate that sex generally ‘works’ due to selective pressures acting on both males and females to enhance lifetime fitness. Mating failures are most common in insects with female flightlessness; these pressures may lead in evolutionary time to transitionary pathways from sexual reproduction to parthenogenesis. Female mating probability is affected by nonlinear density‐dependent processes dependent upon the scale of observation (mate‐encounter Allee effect at large spatial scales, mating interferences between females at small scales). Mate choice and sex role reversal (females being the active sexual partner) are ubiquitous in insects and arachnids with significant paternal investment, but consequences in terms of female lifelong virginity remain unknown. Logistically, conceptual development of female mating failure in insects is most limited by the lack of broadly applicable methods to assess rates of lifetime virginity among flighted females.

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“…It appears likely that the cost of being large in dayflying geometrid moths is primarily related to positively size-dependent predation risk. We have reasons to expect that insectivorous birds, the main day-active predators of flying insects in the temperate zone, attack larger geometrids more frequently than smaller ones (Holm et al, 2016). This is because larger insects are both more easily detectable (M€ and et al, 2007) and are more rewarding food items for the predators.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Day‐flying moths are smaller: evidence for ecological costs of being large

Tammaru

Johansson

Davis

2018

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Research on evolutionary forces determining optimal body sizes has primarily relied on experimental evaluation of respective selective pressures. Accounting for among-species variation through application of phylogenetic comparative methods is a complementary although little used approach. It enables the direct association of body size values with particular environments. Using phylogenetically explicit comparative analyses, we show that small body size is associated with diurnal (rather than nocturnal) activity of adults among temperate species of the moth family Geometridae. The association of an exclusively adult trait with species-specific body size suggests that optimal body sizes are at least partly determined by the costs being a large adult, as opposed to the more frequently considered costs of attaining large size. It appears likely that size-selective predation by insectivorous birds is the primary factor responsible for selection against large body size in day-flying moths.

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A comparative perspective on longevity: the effect of body size dominates over ecology in moths

Cited by 37 publications

References 98 publications

The dark side of Lepidoptera: Colour lightness of geometrid moths decreases with increasing latitude

The dark side of Lepidoptera: Colour lightness of geometrid moths decreases with increasing latitude

Ecology of female mating failure/lifelong virginity: a review of causal mechanisms in insects and arachnids

Day‐flying moths are smaller: evidence for ecological costs of being large

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