How to translate text using browser tools
31 December 2022 Divergence in Body Mass, Wing Loading, and Population Structure Reveals Species-Specific and Potentially Adaptive Trait Variation Across Elevations in Montane Bumble Bees
Jeffrey D. Lozier, Zachary M. Parsons, Lois Rachoki, Jason M. Jackson, Meaghan L. Pimsler, Kennan J. Oyen, James Strange, Michael E. Dillon
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Biogeographic clines in morphology along environmental gradients can illuminate forces influencing trait evolution within and between species. Latitude has long been studied as a driver of morphological clines, with a focus on body size and temperature. However, counteracting environmental pressures may impose constraints on body size. In montane landscapes, declines in air density with elevation can negatively impact flight performance in volant species, which may contribute to selection for reduced body mass despite declining temperatures. We examine morphology in two bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus Latreille) species, Bombus vancouverensis Cresson and Bombus vosnesenskii Radoszkowski, across mountainous regions of California, Oregon, and Washington, United States. We incorporate population genomic data to investigate the relationship between genomic ancestry and morphological divergence. We find that B. vancouverensis, which tends to be more specialized for high elevations, exhibits stronger spatial-environmental variation, being smaller in the southern and higher elevation parts of its range and having reduced wing loading (mass relative to wing area) at high elevations. Bombus vosnesenskii, which is more of an elevational generalist, has substantial trait variation, but spatial-environmental correlations are weak. Population structure is stronger in the smaller B. vancouverensis, and we find a significant association between elevation and wing loading after accounting for genetic structure, suggesting the possibility of local adaptation for this flight performance trait. Our findings suggest that some conflicting results for body size trends may stem from distinct environmental pressures that impact different aspects of bumble bee ecology, and that different species show different morphological clines in the same region.

© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Jeffrey D. Lozier, Zachary M. Parsons, Lois Rachoki, Jason M. Jackson, Meaghan L. Pimsler, Kennan J. Oyen, James Strange, and Michael E. Dillon "Divergence in Body Mass, Wing Loading, and Population Structure Reveals Species-Specific and Potentially Adaptive Trait Variation Across Elevations in Montane Bumble Bees," Insect Systematics and Diversity 5(5), 1-15, (31 December 2022). https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixab012
Received: 21 January 2021; Accepted: 8 April 2021; Published: 31 December 2022
JOURNAL ARTICLE
15 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Bergmann's rule
elevation
thermoregulation
wing loading
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top