The effect of seed traits on geographic variation in body size and sexual size dimorphism of the seed-feeding beetle Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus.

ABSTRACT: Explaining large-scale patterns of variation in body size has been considered a central question in ecology and evolutionary biology because several life-history traits are directly linked to body size. For ectothermic organisms, little is known about what processes influence geographic variation in body size. Changes in body size and sexual size dimorphism (SSD) have been associated with environmental variables, particularly for Bruchinae insects, which feed exclusively on seeds during the larval stage. However, the effect of important seed traits on body size variation has rarely been investigated, and whether SSD varies substantially among populations within bruchine species is poorly known. Using the seed-feeding beetle Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus infesting its host plant

SUBMITTER: Haga EB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5513244 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature