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NYMPHAL DENSITY AND LIFE HISTORIES OF TWO WATER STRIDERS (HEMIPTERA: GERRIDAE)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Tetsuo Harada  and
John R. Spence
Tetsuo Harada
Affiliation:
Biological Laboratory, Faculty of Education, Kochi University, Kochi 780, Japan
John R. Spence*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405A, Biological Sciences Centre, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9
*
1 Author to whom all corresponding should be addressed (E-mail: john.spence@ualberta.ca).
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Abstract

We used laboratory experiments to study the effects of rearing density on nymphal duration, dispersal dimorphism, and reproduction of two wing-dimorphic water strider species, Gerris buenoi Kirkaldy (wing morphs macropterous and micropterous) and Gerris pingreensis Drake and Hottes (mainly apterous and macropterous), that specialize, respectively, in temporary and permanent habitats. First-instar nymphs from field-collected or laboratory-cultured parents were reared with superabundant food at high (2900 or 3100 first-instar individuals/m2) or low (145 or 155 first-instar individuals/m2) starting density under a photoperiod of 19L:5D and at 20 ± 2 °C. Average nymphal period of both species under high density was significantly shorter by 4–5 d than under low density. There were no significant differences in percent survival between densities in either species. In G. pingreensis all new adults were apterous and entered reproductive diapause. In contrast, both wing morphs were expressed in G. buenoi; however, a lower proportion of macropters emerged under high density than under low density. All females of G. buenoi tested were reproductively active, regardless of wing morph. There was no effect of density on preoviposition period for G. buenoi of either wing morph, although preoviposition period was about twice as long in long-winged as in short-winged females. In G. buenoi, nymphal crowding promotes development of nonflying reproductives, which allocate nutritional resources to rapid reproduction rather than dispersal, at least when food conditions are sufficient. In G. pingreensis, nymphs that develop faster under crowding may be less subject to cannibalism and intraguild predation.

Résumé

Nous avons mis au point des expériences en laboratoire pour étudier les effets de la densité des élevages sur la durée du stade larvaire, le dimorphisme à la dispersion et la reproduction chez deux espèces de patineurs, Gerris buenoi Kirkaldy (formes macroptères et formes microptèrese) et Gerris pingreensis Drake et Hottes (formes surtout aptères et microptères), qui se spécialisent respectivement dans les habitats temporaires et les habitats permanents. Les larves de premier stade provenant de parents récoltés en nature ou élevés en laboratoire ont été soumises à un régime de nourriture en surabondance et à une densité de départ élevée (2900 ou 3100 larves de premier stade/m2) ou faible (124 ou 155 larves/m2) à une photopériode de 19L : 5O, à 20 ± 2 °C. La durée moyenne de la vie larvaire chez les individus élevés à haute densité s’est avérée significativement plus courte, de 4–5 jours, que la survie des individus élevés à faible densité. En revanche, la survie, exprimée en pourcentage, n’était pas affectée par la densité. Chez G. pingreensis, tous les nouveaux adultes étaient aptères et ils sont entrés en diapause de reproduction. Par ailleurs, les deux formes alaires étaient exprimées chez G. buenoi; cependant, l’élevage à haute densité a donné lieu à une proportion moins grande d’individus macroptères que l’élevage à faible densité. Toutes les femelles de G. buenoi testées, d’une forme ou l’autre, étaient sexuellement actives. La densité n’avait pas d’effet sur la période de préponte chez les G. buenoi de l’une ou l’autre forme, mais cette période durait environ deux fois plus longtemps chez les femelles macroptères que chez les femelles microptères. Chez G. buenoi, l’entassement des larves de premier stade favorise le développement de reproducteurs incapables de voler, ce qui canalise les ressources vers une reproduction rapide plutôt que vers la dispersion, du moins lorsque la nourriture est suffisamment abondante. Chez G. pingreensis, les larves qui se développent plus rapidement en conditions d’entassement sont probablement moins sujettes au cannibalisme ou à la prédation entre guildes.

[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 132 , Issue 3 , June 2000 , pp. 353 - 363
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2000

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