Neotropical dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata): a study system for the macro-ecology of sexual selection

• Grant number: 12/20468-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2013
• End date: April 24, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Glauco Machado
• Grantee: Eduardo da Silva Alves dos Santos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sexual selection is one of the most well studied evolutionary processes. However, the lack of a theoretical framework for studies of sexual selection in a large geographic scale restricts our understanding of how the intensity of this process can vary geographically. The recently created macro-ecology of sexual selection aims to fulfill this gap, making predictions about the direct and indirect influence of environmental conditions (biotic and abiotic) on sexually selected traits over a large geographic scale. In this sense, the main objective of this project is to test macro-ecological hypotheses using Neotropical dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) as a study system. Specifically, we will test the influence of climatic variables on: (1) the occurrence of alternative morphs, (2) the magnitude of sexual dimorphism, (3) the magnitude of sexual dichromatism, and (4) the degree of sperm competition. To test the macro-ecological hypotheses related to each of these sexually selected characteristics, we will use data available in the literature, in taxonomic collections and in electronic databases. These data will be combined and used in phylogenetic comparative analyses. The results obtained in this research will not only be the first empirical tests of the hypothesis of macro-ecology of sexual selection, but may also be used in a more applied manner to inform predictions about the effect of climatic changes on the composition of dragonfly and damselfly species in local communities.

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MUNIZ, DANILO G.; SANTOS, EDUARDO S. A.; GUIMARAES, JR., PAULO R.; NAKAGAWA, SHINICHI; MACHADO, GLAUCO. A multinomial network method for the analysis of mate choice and assortative mating in spatially structured populations. METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 8, n. 10, p. 1321-1331, OCT 2017. (13/13632-5, 12/50229-1, 15/10448-4, 12/20468-4)

SANTOS, EDUARDO S. A.; BUENO, PEDRO P.; GILBERT, JAMES D. J.; MACHADO, GLAUCO. Macroecology of parental care in arthropods: higher mortality risk leads to higher benefits of offspring protection in tropical climates. BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, v. 92, n. 3, p. 1688-1701, AUG 2017. (12/50229-1, 15/10448-4, 12/20468-4, 12/10167-7)

MUNIZ, DANILO G.; MACHADO, GLAUCO. Mate sampling influences the intensity of sexual selection and the evolution of costly sexual ornaments. Journal of Theoretical Biology, v. 447, p. 74-83, JUN 14 2018. (13/13632-5, 12/50229-1, 12/20468-4)

MARTINEZ-ORTEGA, CRISTINA; SANTOS, EDUARDO S. A.; GIL, DIEGO. Species-specific differences in relative eye size are related to patterns of edge avoidance in an Amazonian rainforest bird community. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 4, n. 19, p. 3736-3745, OCT 2014. (12/20468-4)

SANTOS, EDUARDO S. A.; SANTOS, LUANA L. S.; LAGISZ, MALGORZATA; NAKAGAWA, SHINICHI. Conflict and cooperation over sex: the consequences of social and genetic polyandry for reproductive success in dunnocks. Journal of Animal Ecology, v. 84, n. 6, p. 1509-1519, NOV 2015. (12/20468-4)

SANTOS, E. S. A.; MACHADO, G.. Sexual dichromatism in wing pigmentation of New World dragonflies follows Rensch's rule. JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, v. 29, n. 7, p. 1447-1454, JUL 2016. (12/50229-1, 12/20468-4)

SENIOR, ALISTAIR M.; GRUEBER, CATHERINE E.; KAMIYA, TSUKUSHI; LAGISZ, MALGORZATA; O'DWYER, KATIE; SANTOS, EDUARDO S. A.; NAKAGAWA, SHINICHI. Heterogeneity in ecological and evolutionary meta-analyses: its magnitude and implications. ECOLOGY, v. 97, n. 12, p. 3293-3299, DEC 2016. (12/20468-4)

MACEDO-REGO, RENATO C.; COSTA-SCHMIDT, LUIZ ERNESTO; SANTOS, EDUARDO S. A.; MACHADO, GLAUCO. Negative effects of prolonged dietary restriction on male mating effort: nuptial gifts as honest indicators of long-term male condition. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 6, FEB 24 2016. (12/50229-1, 15/10448-4, 12/20468-4)