Analysis of modularity and integration suggests evolution of dragonfly wing venation mainly in response to functional demands.

ABSTRACT: Insect wings show a high variability in wing venation. Selection for function, developmental pathways and phylogeny likely influenced wing vein diversification, however, quantitative data to estimate these influences and their interplay are missing. Here, it is tested how dragonfly wing vein configuration is influenced by functional demands, development, phylogeny and allometry using the concepts of modularity and integration. In an evolutionary context, modules are sets of characters that evolve in relative independence to other characters, while integration refers to a high degree of association between subparts of a structure. Results show allometric and phylogenetic signal in the wing shape variation, however, patterns of integration and modularity are not influenced by these two facto

SUBMITTER: Blanke A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6127186 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature