Girgente, J.S.; McIntyre, N.E. Watershed-Mediated Ecomorphological Variation: A Case Study with the Twin-Striped Clubtail Dragonfly (Hylogomphus geminatus). Insects2023, 14, 754.
Girgente, J.S.; McIntyre, N.E. Watershed-Mediated Ecomorphological Variation: A Case Study with the Twin-Striped Clubtail Dragonfly (Hylogomphus geminatus). Insects 2023, 14, 754.
Girgente, J.S.; McIntyre, N.E. Watershed-Mediated Ecomorphological Variation: A Case Study with the Twin-Striped Clubtail Dragonfly (Hylogomphus geminatus). Insects2023, 14, 754.
Girgente, J.S.; McIntyre, N.E. Watershed-Mediated Ecomorphological Variation: A Case Study with the Twin-Striped Clubtail Dragonfly (Hylogomphus geminatus). Insects 2023, 14, 754.
Abstract
Anthropogenic land-cover change is modifying ecosystems at an accelerating rate. Changes to ecomorphologically variable taxa within those ecosystems serve as early-warning signs that resources on which humans and other animals depend are being altered. One known ecomorphologically variable taxon is Hylogomphus geminatus, a species of dragonfly in the southeastern United States that shows pronounced variation in total body length across its limited geographic range. We measured total length of live as well as preserved museum specimens of H. geminatus and the sympatric species Progomphus obscurus (as a means for comparison). Both species showed significant size differences by HUC-8 watersheds in which they occur. H. geminatus showed additional significant differences on either side of the Apalachicola River, Florida, for all comparisons by sex. In overlapping watersheds, the species tended to show the same trends in size relative to their respective averages. Smaller body size was associated with more urban and agricultural land cover. These findings indicate that ecomorphological variation is tied to the watershed scale and point to significant variations on either side of the Apalachicola River. More focused research and continuous stream monitoring should be implemented to understand the extent that phenotypic plasticity plays in this variation.
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