Phenotypic variability in traits related to flight dispersal in the wing dimorphic species Triatoma guasayana

GISEL GIGENA; CLAUDIA S RODRÍGUEZ; FEDERICO G. FIAD; MARIA LAURA HERNÁNDEZ; ANA LAURA CARBAJAL DE LA FUENTE; ROMINA PICCINALI; PAZ SÁNCHEZ CASACCIA; ANTONIETA ROJAS DE ARIAS; PATRICIA LOBBIA; LUCIANA ABRAHAN; MARINELY BUSTAMANTE GÓMEZ; JORGE ESPINOZA; FLORENCIA CANO SUAREZ; JULIETA NATTERO

PARASITES AND VECTORS

BIOMED CENTRAL LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2022

1756-3305

Background: Triatoma guasayana is considered an emerging Chagas disease vector in the Southern Cone of South America. The presence of a population with brachypterous individuals, in which both wings are reduced, has recently been reported for this species. We aimed to understand if flight-related traits varied across populations, if these traits could explain differences in flight capacity across populations, and if flight-related traits are associated with geographic and/or climatic variation.Methods: The study involved 66 males from 10 populations. We used digital images of wing, head and pronotum to estimate linear and geometric morphometric variables. We analysed variation in size and shape using one-way ANOVA and canonical variate analysis (CVA), respectively. We used Mantel tests to analyse the relationship between morphometric and geographic distances. We analysed the association between size measurements using Pearson’s correlation. We explored covariation between size and shape variables using partial least square analyses (PLS). We tested the association of geographic and climatic variables with size measurements using linear regression analyses. We performed PLS analyses for shape measurements. Results: Wing size differed significantly across populations. The CVA showed that wing shape of the brachypterous population is well discriminated from that of the other populations. The Mantel test showed a positive and significant association between wing shape and geographic distances. The brachypterous population exhibited significantly larger heads than the other populations. As for wing shape, the head shape of the brachypterous population was well discriminated from the rest of the populations. Pronotum width did not show significant differences across populations. Geographic and climatic factors were associated with size and shape of both wing and head, but not with pronotum width. Conclusions: Most traits related to flight dispersal varied across populations. Wing shape and head shape are better markers to differentiated morphological variation across populations . Head measurements also varied in accordance with this condition. Geographic and climatic variables were associated with most of the flight-related traits.