Consequences of Trait Variation in Myrmeleontid Populations

Ofer Ovadia - Primary Investigator

Myrmeleon hyalinus larvae

Aziz Subach - Research Fellow

Vadim Khasdan - Manager of Genetic Laboratory

Inon Scharf - PhD Candidate

How different organizational levels interact to influence population dynamics remains a key research challenge in ecology.  Addressing this question requires blending two complementary yet largely independent disciplines: evolutionary ecology and population ecology.  

Our research combines approaches in these two disciplines to investigate the causes (genetic vs. phenotypic) of variation in morphological and life history traits among individuals in a population and to evaluate the consequent effects of such variation on their population demography. It involves a model system comprising of two antlion species, Lopezus fedtschenkoi (McLachlan 1875) and Myrmeleon hyalinus (Olivier 1811).  The two species co-occur over a wide range of sandy areas in the western Negev Desert and the south Coastal Plain of Israel. 

Our goals are to discern: 
(1) the extent of geographic differences in the genetic make-up of different populations of L. fedtschenkoi and M. hyalinus. 
(2) how geographic differences translate into variation in morphological and life history traits among individuals in these populations.
(3) how variation in expression of traits translates into distributions of demographic rates and influences population dynamics. 

Currently, we are conducting a phylogeographic analysis of antlion populations along transects in the sandy areas of the western Negev Desert and the south Coastal Plain of Israel.  On early spring of 2006, we began a 3-year transplant experiment in a fully controlled environment (environmental chambers) to evaluate the link between the genetic structure of antlion populations, phenotypic traits (i.e., morphology and life history) of individuals in these populations and associated distribution of demographic rates.  Finally, to assess the resulting effects on population dynamics, we will construct a stage-structured population model, which incorporates distributions of demographic rates rather then mean rate responses. 

This research represents a new way of evaluating links between patterns observed at the individual-level and processes operating at the population-level.  Furthermore, it addresses a timely topic that can influence our understanding of whether or not trait variation is necessary to make precise and accurate predictions about the distribution, abundance and dynamics of a species.

Collecting Myrmeleon hyalinus larvae

Israel Science Foundation, $156,000. 4 years.

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