| Grant number: | 12/11612-4 |
| Support type: | Regular Research Grants |
| Duration: | October 01, 2012 - September 30, 2015 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology |
| Principal Investigator: | Marcelo Nogueira Rossi |
| Grantee: | Marcelo Nogueira Rossi |
| Home Institution: | Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil |
| Assoc. researchers: | Cibele Stramare Ribeiro-Costa ; Eloísa Brandão Haga |
Abstract
An essential question in ecology and evolutionary biology is to understand systematic patterns of body size variation among different species and within species, since body size can affect the fitness of organisms with important adaptive consequences. Besides, it has been known that the intensity of such variations may occur differently in males and females of a given species, generating variations in the Sexual Size Dimorphism (SSD). The quality and quantity of food resources are important variables, which can influence body size selection. For some insect species of the subfamily Bruchinae, which are exclusively seed feeders, the quality of the host plant is relevant as a source of variation in body size, demonstrating that these organisms can show phenotypic plasticity in body size. However, very few is currently known about which physical and chemical seed traits significantly affect body size and SSD of these insects, and few studies have experimentally investigated the frequency as well as the extent of phenotypic plasticity in this group. Using as a study model the insect-plant system composed by Leucaena leucocephala (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) and its seed predator Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae), the current study is aimed to investigate the relative contribution of physical and chemical traits of L. leucocephala seeds on body size and SSD of A. macrophthalmus. In addition, it will be examined whether A. macrophthalmus presents phenotypic plasticity in body size due to variations in physical and chemical seed traits. To answer these questions, two experiments will be carried out in the laboratory, which were carefully described throughout the project. (AU)