THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MALE WING PIGMENTATION AND CONDITION IN ERYTHRODIPLAX FUNEREA (HAGEN) (ANISOPTERA: LIBELLULIDAE)

摘要

Theory predicts that sexual traits ought to be related to physiological indicators of condition. In Zygoptera, for example, wing pigmentation expression (i.e. a sexual trait) correlates positively with male immune response, fat reserves and muscle mass. Here, it is for the first time investigated for anisopterans, whether such relationships hold in male E..fimerea. male male in territorial activity, were collected and challenged to induce a melanization-based immune response. male wing pigmentation was then correlated with melanin, fat reserves and muscle mass. Unlike previous results in Zygoptera, pigmentation was negatively related with immune response but no significant relation was found with fat and muscle mass. Furthermore, immune response showed no relationship with fat content or muscle mass. Possibly, the extremely high levels of male aggression observed in this sp. may have caused male male to make an unusually high allocation of resources to wing pigmentation which may have impaired immune response.