skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: An evaluation of common methods for comparing the scaling of vertical force production in flying insects
Maximum vertical force production (Fvert) is an integral measure of flight performance that generally scales with size. Numerous methods of measuring Fvert and body size are accessible to entomologists, but we do not know whether method selection affects inter- and intraspecific comparisons of Fvert-size scaling. We compared two common techniques for measuring Fvert in bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) and mason bees (Osmia lignaria), and examined Fvert scaling using five size metrics. Fvert results were similar with incremental or asymptotic load-lifting, but scaling analyses were sensitive to the size metric used. Analyses based on some size metrics indicated similar scaling exponents and coefficients between species, whereas other metrics indicated coefficients that differed by up to 18%. Furthermore, Fvert showed isometry with body lengths and fed and starved masses, but negative allometry with dry mass. We conclude that Fvert can be measured using either incremental or asymptotic loading but choosing a size metric for scaling studies requires careful consideration.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1856752
PAR ID:
10517600
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Elsevier
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Current Research in Insect Science
Volume:
2
Issue:
C
ISSN:
2666-5158
Page Range / eLocation ID:
100042
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Mammalogy)
    Ge, Deyan (Ed.)
    Abstract The timing and nature of evolutionary shifts in the relative brain size of Primates have been extensively studied. Less is known, however, about the scaling of the brain-to-body size in their closest living relatives, i.e., among other members of Euarchontoglires (Dermoptera, Scandentia, Lagomorpha, Rodentia). Ordinary least squares (OLS), reduced major axis (RMA), and phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) regressions were fitted to the largest euarchontogliran data set of brain and body mass, comprising 715 species. Contrary to previous inferences, lagomorph brain sizes (PGLS slope = 0.465; OLS slope = 0.593) scale relative to body mass similarly to rodents (PGLS = 0.526; OLS = 0.638), and differently than primates (PGLS = 0.607; OLS = 0.794). There is a shift in the pattern of the scaling of the brain in Primates, with Strepsirrhini occupying an intermediate stage similar to Scandentia but different from Rodentia and Lagomorpha, while Haplorhini differ from all other groups in the OLS and RMA analyses. The unique brain–body scaling relationship of Primates among Euarchontoglires illustrates the need for clade-specific metrics for relative brain size (i.e., encephalization quotients; EQs) for more restricted taxonomic entities than Mammalia. We created clade-specific regular and phylogenetically adjusted EQ equations at superordinal, ordinal, and subordinal levels. When using fossils as test cases, our results show that generalized mammalian equations underestimate the encephalization of the stem lagomorph Megalagus turgidus in the context of lagomorphs, overestimate the encephalization of the stem primate Microsyops annectens and the early euprimate Necrolemur antiquus, but provide similar EQ values as our new strepsirrhine-specific EQ when applied to the early euprimate Adapis parisiensis. 
    more » « less
  2. ; (, Integrative and Comparative Biology)
    Abstract Metabolism, a metric of the energy cost of behavior, plays a significant role in social evolution. Body size and metabolic scaling are coupled, and a socioecological pattern of increased body size is associated with dietary change and the formation of larger and more complex groups. These consequences of the adaptive radiation of animal societies beg questions concerning energy expenses, a substantial portion of which may involve the metabolic rates of brains that process social information. Brain size scales with body size, but little is understood about brain metabolic scaling. Social insects such as ants show wide variation in worker body size and morphology that correlates with brain size, structure, and worker task performance, which is dependent on sensory inputs and information-processing ability to generate behavior. Elevated production and maintenance costs in workers may impose energetic constraints on body size and brain size that are reflected in patterns of metabolic scaling. Models of brain evolution do not clearly predict patterns of brain metabolic scaling, nor do they specify its relationship to task performance and worker ergonomic efficiency, two key elements of social evolution in ants. Brain metabolic rate is rarely recorded and, therefore, the conditions under which brain metabolism influences the evolution of brain size are unclear. We propose that studies of morphological evolution, colony social organization, and worker ergonomic efficiency should be integrated with analyses of species-specific patterns of brain metabolic scaling to advance our understanding of brain evolution in ants. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; (, . Proceedings of the 6th ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI 2018))
    Best Paper Award. When estimating the distance or size of an object in the real world, we often use our own body as a metric; this strategy is called body-based scaling. However, object size estimation in a virtual environment presented via a head-mounted display differs from the physical world due to technical limitations such as narrow field of view and low fidelity of the virtual body when compared to one's real body. In this paper, we focus on increasing the fidelity of a participant's body representation in virtual environments with a personalized hand using personalized characteristics and a visually faithful augmented virtuality approach. To investigate the impact of the personalized hand, we compared it against a generic virtual hand and measured effects on virtual body ownership, spatial presence, and object size estimation. Specifically, we asked participants to perform a perceptual matching task that was based on scaling a virtual box on a table in front of them. Our results show that the personalized hand not only increased virtual body ownership and spatial presence, but also supported participants in correctly estimating the size of a virtual object in the proximity of their hand. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; (, Journal of Comparative Neurology)
    Abstract Concerted developmental programming may constrain changes in component structures of the brain, thus limiting the ability of selection to form an adaptive mosaic of size‐variable brain compartments independent of total brain size or body size. Measuring patterns of gene expression underpinning brain scaling in conjunction with anatomical brain atlases can aid in identifying influences of concerted and/or mosaic evolution. Species exhibiting exceptional size and behavioral polyphenisms provide excellent systems to test predictions of brain evolution models by quantifying brain gene expression. We examined patterns of brain gene expression in a remarkably polymorphic and behaviorally complex social insect, the leafcutter antAtta cephalotes. The majority of significant differential gene expression observed among three morphologically, behaviorally, and neuroanatomically differentiated worker size groups was attributable to body size. However, we also found evidence of differential brain gene expression unexplained by worker morphological variation and transcriptomic analysis identified patterns not linearly correlated with worker size but sometimes mirroring neuropil scaling. Additionally, we identified enriched gene ontology terms associated with nucleic acid regulation, metabolism, neurotransmission, and sensory perception, further supporting a relationship between brain gene expression, brain mosaicism, and worker labor role. These findings demonstrate that differential brain gene expression among polymorphic workers underpins behavioral and neuroanatomical differentiation associated with complex agrarian division of labor inA. cephalotes. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts)
    The rise of mammals after the extinction of the dinosaurs remains one of the most enigmatic intervals in the evolution of mammals. A relatively sparse Paleocene fossil record and confusing relationships between taxa means that little is known of the evolution, ecology, or biology of these animals. Accordingly, the life history of these organisms remains unstudied, despite likely playing a key role in the rapid proliferation and body size increase of these clades in recovering ecosystems. Here, we present results of an in-depth paleohistological analysis of Pantolambda bathmodon, an early, possibly gregarious pantodont, using a new ontogenetic series of specimens. Pantodonts were bizarre, herbivorous eutherians of unknown phylogenetic affinity, and were among the first mammal lineages to reach large body sizes in the Paleocene. In examining both dental and skeletal records of growth from the same individuals, including a juvenile still bearing deciduous teeth, our study is among the most comprehensive paleohistological analyses of any fossil mammal, allowing for unprecedented insights into the life history of this species. Neonatal lines in the teeth indicate that the deciduous premolars and the first upper molar erupted prior to birth, similar to precocious, nidifugous mammals today. Daily incremental lines in the enamel and dentine suggest rapid crown formation times (~70–180 days) and a gestation period of at least 20 weeks. A stress line in the teeth and postcranial bones, recording an anomalous decrease in growth towards the end of this individual’s life, may represent weaning. The weanling perished approximately 2.5 months after birth, weighing about 17 kg. Adult individuals exhibiting severe wear on the dentition allow us to estimate maximum longevity in Pantolambda bathmodon at about 7 years. In comparison with living mammals, Pantolambda bathmodon had gestation and weaning periods below average for a placental of its adult body size (42 kg), but within the range of known variation. However, its lifespan was exceptionally short, falling outside the bounds of comparable living mammals. Together, these lines of evidence suggest a rapid pace of life in Pantolambda bathmodon, despite its relatively large body size. Ongoing sampling of more individuals and geochemical analyses should allow for estimation of time to sexual maturity and help to confirm the identity of the weaning line, completing our picture of the life history of this pioneering species. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email