A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Inter- and intrapopulation effects of sex and age on epicuticular composition of meadow grasshopper, Chorthippus parallelus
Authors: Tregenza T, Buckley SH, Pritchard VL, Butlin RK
Publisher: KLUWER ACADEMIC/PLENUM PUBL
Publication year: 2000
Journal: Journal of Chemical Ecology
Journal name in source: JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
Journal acronym: J CHEM ECOL
Volume: 26
Issue: 1
First page : 257
Last page: 278
Number of pages: 22
ISSN: 0098-0331
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005457931869
Abstract
We analyzed patterns of variation in cuticular lipids across and within five populations of the meadow grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus. This revealed considerable differences between the sexes and between populations and differences in the pattern of sexual dimorphism between populations. The presence of sexual dimorphism and the extent of differences between populations suggests that divergence has been driven by sexual selection acting through a contact pheromone on the cuticle. However, those lipids that differ most between the sexes are not the same as those that vary the most between populations, suggesting that sexual selection alone is not responsible for driving divergence in cuticular composition. We also examined differences in cuticular composition with adult age, revealing that the proportion of all but one of the 14 lipid classes we identified changes significantly with age in at least one population. Overall the pattern of variation with age is fairly consistent across populations, with the proportion of shorter-chain compounds increasing with age.
We analyzed patterns of variation in cuticular lipids across and within five populations of the meadow grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus. This revealed considerable differences between the sexes and between populations and differences in the pattern of sexual dimorphism between populations. The presence of sexual dimorphism and the extent of differences between populations suggests that divergence has been driven by sexual selection acting through a contact pheromone on the cuticle. However, those lipids that differ most between the sexes are not the same as those that vary the most between populations, suggesting that sexual selection alone is not responsible for driving divergence in cuticular composition. We also examined differences in cuticular composition with adult age, revealing that the proportion of all but one of the 14 lipid classes we identified changes significantly with age in at least one population. Overall the pattern of variation with age is fairly consistent across populations, with the proportion of shorter-chain compounds increasing with age.
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