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Heritability of tibia fluctuating asymmetry and developmental instability in the winter moth (Operophtera brumata L.) (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)

Van Dongen, Stefan ; Sprengers, Ellen ; Löfstedt, Christer LU and Matthysen, Erik (1999) In Heredity 82(5). p.535-542
Abstract

Broad-sense heritability of fluctuating asymmetry and developmental instability in the winter moth were analysed in a full-sib breeding experiment. Effects of both genetic background and common environment on both tibia FA (measured for the three pairs of legs) and body size were studied. As body size has previously been shown to be a reliable indicator of larval feeding success and expected fitness, the relationship between FA and body size was investigated as well. This relationship is of interest because it has been argued that the low heritability of FA results from a strong relationship between FA and fitness. Broad-sense h2 of body size equalled zero whereas the effect of common environment was strong. The heritability... (More)

Broad-sense heritability of fluctuating asymmetry and developmental instability in the winter moth were analysed in a full-sib breeding experiment. Effects of both genetic background and common environment on both tibia FA (measured for the three pairs of legs) and body size were studied. As body size has previously been shown to be a reliable indicator of larval feeding success and expected fitness, the relationship between FA and body size was investigated as well. This relationship is of interest because it has been argued that the low heritability of FA results from a strong relationship between FA and fitness. Broad-sense h2 of body size equalled zero whereas the effect of common environment was strong. The heritability of FA was low and not statistically significant for separate tibias. For FA based on the average of the three tibias h2 equalled 0.07 and differed significantly from zero. The heritability of developmental instability equalled 0.09. Thus the use of the hypothetical repeatability to translate the h2 of FA to h2 of developmental instability did not result in a strong increase in this species. Individual asymmetry was not correlated with fitness (as estimated by body size), indicating that the low heritabilities of FA are not a consequence of a strong correlation with fitness. Between-trait correlations in the unsigned FA were significant. However, these correlations are not necessarily indicative of an individual asymmetry parameter as the signed FA values were positively correlated as well, suggesting interdependent development of the three pairs of legs. Further research is necessary to investigate what the effects of interdependent development are on patterns in FA.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Developmental stability, Fitness, Fluctuating asymmetry, Heritability, Operophtera, Repeatability
in
Heredity
volume
82
issue
5
pages
8 pages
publisher
Macmillan
external identifiers
  • scopus:0033061463
ISSN
0018-067X
project
Evolutionary mechanisms of pheromone divergence in Lepidoptera
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4cd7e409-cb06-480e-b204-1950e30a612e
date added to LUP
2020-05-26 15:24:30
date last changed
2024-04-17 10:27:16
@article{4cd7e409-cb06-480e-b204-1950e30a612e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Broad-sense heritability of fluctuating asymmetry and developmental instability in the winter moth were analysed in a full-sib breeding experiment. Effects of both genetic background and common environment on both tibia FA (measured for the three pairs of legs) and body size were studied. As body size has previously been shown to be a reliable indicator of larval feeding success and expected fitness, the relationship between FA and body size was investigated as well. This relationship is of interest because it has been argued that the low heritability of FA results from a strong relationship between FA and fitness. Broad-sense h<sup>2</sup> of body size equalled zero whereas the effect of common environment was strong. The heritability of FA was low and not statistically significant for separate tibias. For FA based on the average of the three tibias h<sup>2</sup> equalled 0.07 and differed significantly from zero. The heritability of developmental instability equalled 0.09. Thus the use of the hypothetical repeatability to translate the h<sup>2</sup> of FA to h<sup>2</sup> of developmental instability did not result in a strong increase in this species. Individual asymmetry was not correlated with fitness (as estimated by body size), indicating that the low heritabilities of FA are not a consequence of a strong correlation with fitness. Between-trait correlations in the unsigned FA were significant. However, these correlations are not necessarily indicative of an individual asymmetry parameter as the signed FA values were positively correlated as well, suggesting interdependent development of the three pairs of legs. Further research is necessary to investigate what the effects of interdependent development are on patterns in FA.</p>}},
  author       = {{Van Dongen, Stefan and Sprengers, Ellen and Löfstedt, Christer and Matthysen, Erik}},
  issn         = {{0018-067X}},
  keywords     = {{Developmental stability; Fitness; Fluctuating asymmetry; Heritability; Operophtera; Repeatability}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{535--542}},
  publisher    = {{Macmillan}},
  series       = {{Heredity}},
  title        = {{Heritability of tibia fluctuating asymmetry and developmental instability in the winter moth (Operophtera brumata L.) (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)}},
  volume       = {{82}},
  year         = {{1999}},
}