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Contest behaviour in the speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria): seasonal phenotypic plasticity and the functional significance of flight performance

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Kemp, DJ Wiklund, C Van Dyck, Hans [UCL]

Although contemporary animal contest theory emphasises the importance of physical asymmetries in resolving disputes, such asymmetries do not obviously settle fights in all groups. Territorial male butterflies, for example, compete via elaborate non-contact aerial interactions in which success is determined by relative persistence. Prior research suggests that the resolution of these contests is not clearly related to physical variables such as body size or energy reserves. However, given that the contests involve elaborate aerial manoeuvres, one long-standing suggestion is that asymmetries in flight performance, and thus flight morphology, may be important. We addressed this hypothesis via a manipulative investigation into the biophysical correlates of contest success in the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria. This species possesses the ability for significant adaptive phenotypic plasticity in relevant flight morphological parameters. We took advantage of this plasticity to rear 90 individuals of markedly varying flight morphologies, which we then pitted against each other in a semi-controlled experimental fashion. Multiple logistic and lognormal analyses provided little evidence for the relevance of morphological parameters, including relative flight musculature, wing loading and wing aspect ratio (wing length relative to area), to the outcome and/or duration of experimental contests. Instead, we found a positive effect of age upon contest success. Given that ability for high acceleration is strongly linked to variation in these morphological parameters, our findings suggest that flight performance is not a strong determinant of resource-holding potential in this notably territorial butterfly.

Document type Article de périodique (Journal article) – Article de recherche
Access type Accès restreint
Publication date 2006
Language Anglais
Journal information "Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology" - Vol. 59, no. 3, p. 403-411 (2006)
Peer reviewed yes
Publisher Springer (New York)
issn 0340-5443
e-issn 1432-0762
Publication status Publié
Affiliations UCL - SC/BIOL - Département de biologie
UCL - SST/ELI/ELIB - Biodiversity
Keywords fighting ; flight morphology ; lepidoptera ; resource-holding potential ; sexual selection
Links
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Bibliographic reference Kemp, DJ ; Wiklund, C ; Van Dyck, Hans. Contest behaviour in the speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria): seasonal phenotypic plasticity and the functional significance of flight performance. In: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Vol. 59, no. 3, p. 403-411 (2006)
Permanent URL http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/38720