Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C511205/1
Field estimates of fitness and fitness correlates in a population of damselflies as determined by molecular genetic markers.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor D Thompson, University of Liverpool, Sch of Biological Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor S Kemp, SRUC, Research
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr I F Harvey, University of Liverpool, Sch of Biological Sciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Liverpool, Sch of Biological Sciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Freshwater
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Population Genetics/Evolution
- Population Ecology
- Behavioural Ecology
- Abstract:
- The project is concerned with measuring the factors which contribute to fitness in a population of damselflies. Fitness is a central concept of evolutionary biology and is defined by different biologists in different ways. An individual's fitness can be regarded as its contribution to future generations. In humans it could be thought of as, for example, the number of children or grandchildren an individual produced in his or her lifetime. For a successful study of fitness it must be possible to know the parentage of all of the offspring produced and all of the offspring of each parent must be traced and identified. This has only be possible in the last ten years thanks to the use of genetic markers, so-called DNA fingerprinting. The study species cannot have a lifespan longer than a research grant, cannot be so mobile that individuals are likely to move outside a reasonable study area and cannot be so numerous that it would be impossible to undertake the necessary molecular genetic analysis. The advantages of using damselflies are that they are big enough to be marked individually, breed in clearly defined places (water bodies), the offspring cannot move from the water bodies in which they were born (until the adult stage), legs can be removed for DNA analysis without impairing reproductive activity and a large number of genetic markers (microsatellites) can be made easily. In addition we have shown that smaller damselflies rarely disperse from the sites at which they first attempt to breed even if those sites are very close to other suitable breeding sites. By choosing an isolated site from this risk would be negligible. We are able to obtain a large sample size because damselflies can be individually marked. This means that we can observe matings between marked individuals and thus reduce the chance of false parentage assessment. We aim to look at factors that contribute to variation in fitness. This will enable us to look at the roles of natural and sexual selection in contributing to fitness. From our previous work we know that all mature females will lay clutches of eggs. Just how many they lay will be under natural selection (determined by her ability to secure sufficient food to mature several clutches of eggs as well as avoiding predators). The mating success of males will show much more variation and could be said to be under both natural and sexual selection. Natural selection shapes the probability of survival from day to day, but sexual selection determines the male's ability to compete with other males for access to females. The factors we will measure are body size, date of mating, parasite load, daily environmental variables (temperature, rainfall, sunshine hours etc.), female form (there are two types), plant species into which the clutch is laid and number of the clutch for each female (first, second etc.). In practical terms we will catch all of the individuals of our study species, the Azure Damselfly, that come to breed at a small, isolated pond in southern England in each of two summers. On capture we will mark each individual with a number on its left hindwing in waterproof ink and put a small dab of paint on the top of its thorax. We will measure the left forewing with digital callipers, count the number of mites attached, record female type and remove the left hind leg. This leg will be used for DNA extraction and genotyping of up to 20 microsatellite loci. The identity of mating pairs will be recorded as well as the plant species into which the eggs are laid. This procedure and the analysis of parentage should provide the best estimates of fitness and its correlates in any organism so far studied.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C511205/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £301,369
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs | Total - Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £17,551 | £154,317 | £47,318 | £70,986 | £11,197 |
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