Differences in exocuticle thickness in Leucorrhinia dubia (Odonata) larvae from habitats with and without fish 2006 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor)Student thesis

Abstract [en]

Many prey species are able to develop different morphological structures as defence against for example predators. Some of these structures are induced only by individuals exposed to a predator. This phenomenon is called phenotypic plasticity. In this paper we examine whether cuticle thickness in Leucorrhinia dubia (Odonata) larvae differed between specimens caught in fish containg lakes and fish-free lakes respectively. We measured the thickness of the cuticle from four different parts of the larvae; profemur, pronotum, ninth segment sternite and ninth segment tergite. Our results showed a significantly thicker exocuticle on profemur in larvae with a head width bigger than 4.5 mm caught in lakes with fish.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages

2006.

Keywords [en]

Phenotypic plasticity, morphological adaptations, cuticle thickness, dragonflies, induced defence

Identifiers

URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-13614Local ID: U12770OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-13614DiVA, id: diva2:368805

Uppsok

Life Earth Science

Note

Denna uppsats kan beställas från arkivet / This paper can be ordered from the archive. Kontakta / Contact: arkivet@hh.seAvailable from: 2010-11-09 Created: 2010-11-09Bibliographically approved

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School of Business and Engineering (SET)

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