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

FIAD FG; PICCINALI RV; LOBBIA PA; CANO F; RODRIGUEZ CS; CARBAJAL DE LA FUENTE AL; GIGENA GV; ROJAS DE ARIAS, A.; HERNÁNDEZ, ML; BUSTAMANTE GOMEZ M; SANCHEZ-CASACCIA P; ABRAHAN, L; NATTERO J

La Plata

Congreso; II Congress of the Latin American Society for Vector Ecology; 2022

LaSoVE

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 the lack of flight dispersal in the brachypterous population, and if flight-related traits are associated with geographic and/or climatic variation. 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 study the relationship between morphometric and geographic distances and 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. Wing size differed significantly across populations. The CVA showed that wing shape of the brachypterous population is well discriminated from wing shape of the other populations.There was 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. Most traits related to flight dispersal varied across populations. Wing and head shape were the best markers of the condition of lack of flight dispersal of the brachypterous population. Head measurements also varied in accordance with this condition. Geographic and climatic variables were associated with most of the flight-related traits.