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THE WING LENGTH OF LENTIC CAPNIIDAE (PLECOPTERA) AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO ELEVATION AND WISCONSIN GLACIATION

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

D. B. Donald
Affiliation:
Canadian Wildlife Service, 9942 – 108 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J5
D. E. Patriquin
Affiliation:
Canadian Wildlife Service, 9942 – 108 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J5

Abstract

Along the Continental Divide in Alberta, British Columbia, and Montana three species of Capniidae were common at some lakes (Capnia confusa Claassen, Isocapnia integra Hanson, and Utacapnia trava (Nebeker and Gaufin)). Females of all three species had substantial reduction in wing length at least at one lake, while most lentic populations had slightly shorter wings than a macropterous river population of the same species. For females of all three species there was a weak positive relationship between functional wing length and lake elevation. Furthermore, there was also a significant negative relationship between functional wing length and the approximate year of Wisconsin deglaciation for C. confusa and U. trava. Suitable data were not available to test the significance of this relationship for I. integra. However, the relationships between wing length and elevation, and between wing length and Wisconsin deglaciation, suggest that wing length of these three capniid species is related to lake age. Present day wing length might be explained by selection for brachypterism over recent millennia.

Résumé

Le long de la ligne de partage des eaux qui passe par l'Alberta, la Colombie-Britannique et le Montana, trois Capniidae (Capnia confusa Claassen, Isocapnia integra Hanson et Utacapnia trava (Nebeker et Gaufin)) sont communs dans certains lacs. Dans au moins un lac, les femelles des trois espèces ont les ailes notablement écourtées tandis que la plupart des populations d'eaux lentiques ont les ailes légèrement plus courtes que celles d'une population macroptère d'eau courante des mêmes espèces. Pour les femelles des trois espèces la longueur de l'aile fonctionnelle et l'altitude du lac sont faiblement corrélées. De plus, entre la longueur de l'aile fonctionnelle de C. confusa et d'U. trava et l'année approximative de la déglaciation du Wisconsin, la corrélation est significativement négative. On ne disposait pas des données appropriées pour tester si cette relation était significative pour I. integra. Cependant, les relations entre la longueur de l'aile et l'altitude et entre la longueur de l'aile et la déglaciation du Wisconsin indiquent que cette variable alaire est reliée, dans le cas des trois espèces, à l'âge des lacs. La longueur actuelle des ailes pourrait être le résultat d'une sélection favorisant la brachyptérisme au cours des derniers millénaires.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1983

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