Predator size divergence depends on community context |
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| Authors: | Yutaka Okuzaki Teiji Sota |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Takaoka, Tomakomai, Japan;2. Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Body size is a multi‐functional trait related to various fitness components, but the relative importance of different selection pressures is seldom resolved. In Carabus japonicus beetles, of which the larvae exclusively prey on earthworms, adult body size is related to the presence/absence of a larger congener and habitat temperature. In sympatry, C. japonicus consistently exhibits smaller body size which is effective for avoiding interspecific mating, but in allopatry, it shows size variation unrelated to temperature. Here, we show that this predator–size variation is attributed to prey–size variation, associated with high phylogenetic diversity in earthworm communities. In allopatry, the predator size was larger where larger prey occurred. Larger adult size may have been selected because larger females produce larger larvae, which can subdue larger prey. Thus, in the absence of a larger congener, variation in prey body size had a pronounced effect on geographic body size divergence in C. japonicus. |
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| Keywords: | Adaptive evolution beta diversity carabid beetle character release DNA barcoding DNA taxonomy earthworm reproductive interference UniFrac distance |
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