PhD candidate Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Maplewood, New Jersey
Few organisms known to science migrate as far and wide as the dragonfly known as the Wandering Glider, Pantala flavescens. Identifying morphological variation within a cosmopolitan species has the potential to provide insights into mechanisms driving dispersal and migration, as well as those influencing gene flow and isolation. Here, to measure proxies for dispersal ability, we measured and analyzed fore- and hind-wing features. We gathered morphological data and compared island and mainland representatives by using TOWD (Targeted Odonata Wing Digitization) feature extraction for linear measurements and landmarking wings for comparative shape analysis. Using gabor wavelet transformations and neural networks, we extracted wing vein patterns and other features such as wing length and area moments, thought to be correlated with flight behavior. For the first time, we compared wing morphology of insular representatives from Bimini, Baltra Island, Cuba, Fatu Hiva, Guadalcanal, Guam, Haorangi, Hiva Oa, Jamaica, Kahoolawe, Kauai, Kiritimati, Kwajalein Atoll, Philippines, Maewo, Malaysia, Mangareva, Maui, Normanby Island, Nuku Hiva, Oahu, Papua New Guinea, Pohnpei, Raivavae, Rapa Nui, Rurutu Island, Saint Croix, Saipan, Tabuaeran, Tahiti, Taiwan, and Teraina, to continental representatives from Australia, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, the United States of America, Mexico, Paraguay, and Ecuador. With these data, we analyzed morphological patterns that varied between island and continental populations globally. We uncover variation between continental and island groups and discuss its potential influence on the ecology and evolution of this species and other migrating animals.
