Title: Dispersal of Larval Damselflies: Do Larvae Exhibit Spacing Behaviour in the Field?
Abstract: Under laboratory conditions larvae of Enallagma ebrium and Ischnura verticalis (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) exclude conspecifics from patches of prey. I analysed dispersal of larvae to artificial substrates in a pond in southern Ontario to test the hypothesis that larvae of these species exhibit spacing behaviour under field conditions. In contrast to predictions of the spacing hypothesis, there was little evidence to suggest that dispersing larvae were smaller or behaviourally subordinate compared with the larval population as a whole. Also, dispersal rate was not positively correlated with an index of food limitation. Lack of evidence for spacing behaviour may reflect a lack of discrete, persistent patches of prey.
Publication Year: 1987
Publication Date: 1987-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 8
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