Short Communication: Morphometric variations in two populations of Limnophora marginata Stein, 1904 (Diptera, Muscidae) in Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract. Ruiz MA, Acosta-López C, Soto-Vivas A. 2021. Short Communication: Morphometric variations in two populations of Limnophora marginata Stein, 1904 (Diptera, Muscidae) in Ecuador. Biodiversitas 22: 2654-2657. Limnophora includes 230 species, eleven of which are present in Ecuador. There are few studies on the bioecology of these species in the country. However, recent studies indicate that Limnophora marginata Stein, 1904 as the most abundant species in the Evergreen High Montane Forest (EHMF) located at 3400 masl in Tocachi parish, in contrast to a low abundance in the Dry Forest (DF) at 2500 masl in Malchingui parish, Pedro Moncayo Canton. This study was described the wing morphogeometric variation of L. marginata associated with these two habitats. Thirty-two wings were photographed: 16 specimens in EHMF and 16 in DF. The coordinates configurations (x,y) were registered and aligned through Generalized Procrustes Analysis. The centroid size between habitats was significantly different (Kruskal-Wallis; p?0.005); EHMF specimens were larger than DF. Reclassification a posteriori was perfect in DF specimens (100%), and almost perfect in EHMF (93.75%). The landmarks that most contributed to the variation between habitats were: Interception between M and wing border, interception dm-cu, and interception between Cu and dm-cu. The wing morphometric variations observed in L. marginata could be associated with phenotypic plasticity.

Genetic variation of Limnophora marginata Stein, 1904 (Diptera: Muscidae), associated with an altitudinal gradient in Pedro Moncayo Canton, Pichincha, Ecuador

“…These aspects correspond to the results found in this investigation, since the altitudinal gradient did not influence the interpopulation genetic variability. Our parallel project analyzing morphological differences with geometric morphometric tools (Ruiz et al 2021) concluded that the found diversity was probably due to the plasticity of the species. Encompassing such analyses with molecular markers results in a more comprehensive view of the populations dynamics and allows us to better understand changes in population.…”

“…The population of this study includes 526 L. marginata individuals for the Tocachi parish in Evergreen High Montane Forest (-78.290500 W 0.048400 N) and 32 for the Malchingui parish in Dry Forest (-78.358324 W-0.000693 S), located at the Pedro Moncayo Canton of the Pichincha Province, Ecuador (Figure 1). Samples were collected through necrotraps as established in Ruiz et al (2021). The sample was selected in coordination with the parallel morphogeometrics project (Ruiz et al 2021).…”

“…Samples were collected through necrotraps as established in Ruiz et al (2021). The sample was selected in coordination with the parallel morphogeometrics project (Ruiz et al 2021). Due to the difference in population size between localities and the need to standardize the protocol and preserve voucher samples, twenty-six female individuals of each location were used.…”

“…Due to the difference in population size between localities and the need to standardize the protocol and preserve voucher samples, twenty-six female individuals of each location were used. For the next procedures the entirety of the individual was used minus its wings that were analyzed for morphogeometric markers (Ruiz et al 2021).…”

Descriptive study of the species Limnophora Robineau-Desvoidy 1830 (Diptera:Muscidae) in Iraq – Kerbala

“…The Coenosiinae subfamily is widespread in the Neotropical region, characterized by aquatic larvae, which included Limnophoriini and Coenosiini, most species for Limnophoriini are found in humid or dry environments, also it currently includes only 12 genders (Alves et al, 2016) The genus Limnophora includes approximately 230 species spread in different habitats. They live in high and dry forests and can be found from high mountains to valleys, rivers, and streams (Ruiz et al, 2021). Coenosiinae is one of the subfamilies belonging to the family Muscidae, and the common name of its family members is hunter flies or killer flies (de Jong et al, 2014; Martinez & Cocquempot, 2000).…”