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Data from: A comparative study of body size evolution in moths: Evidence of correlated evolution with feeding and phenology-related traits

Cite this dataset

Foerster, Stenio I. A. et al. (2024). Data from: A comparative study of body size evolution in moths: Evidence of correlated evolution with feeding and phenology-related traits [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rjdfn2zm2

Abstract

Interspecific variation in body size is one of the most popular topics in comparative studies. Despite recent advances, little is still known about the patterns and processes behind the evolution of body size in insects. Here, we used a robust data set comprising all geometrid moth species occurring in Northern Europe to examine the evolutionary associations involving body size and several life-history traits under an explicitly phylogenetic framework. We provided new insights into the interactive effects of life-history traits on body size and evidence of correlated evolution. We further established the sequence of trait evolution linking body size with the life-history traits correlated with it. We found that most (but not all) of the studied life-history traits, to some extent, interfered with interspecific variation in body size, but interactive effects were uncommon. Both bi- and multivariate phylogenetic analyses indicated that larger species tend to be nocturnal flyers, overwinter in the larval stage, feed on the foliage of trees rather than herbs, and have a generalist feeding behavior. We found evidence of correlated evolution involving body size with overwintering stage, host-plant growth form, and dietary specialization. The examination of evolutionary transitions within the correlated models signaled that overwintering as larvae preceded the evolution of large sizes, as did feeding on tree foliage and the generalist feeding behavior. By showing that both body size and all life-history traits correlated with it evolve at very slow rates, we caution against uncritical attempts to propose causal explanations for respective associations based on contemporary ecological settings.

README: Data from: A comparative study of body size evolution in moths: Evidence of correlated evolution with feeding and phenology-related traits

https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rjdfn2zm2

This repository contains the trait data & phylogeny used in the study "A Comparative Study of Body Size Evolution in Moths: Evidence of Correlated Evolution with Feeding and Phenology-Related Traits" published on the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.

Description of the data and file structure

  • geom_traits_dbm.csv Table with 372 rows (species) and 13 columns (traits). It contains the trait data for the geometrid species. Columns 2 to 4 contains mean, standard deviation, and standard error of dry masses (in the natural logarithm scale) calculated for each species, respectively. The column overwinter indicates the life stage at which each species undergo overwinter (larva, egg, pupa, adult); column foodplant contains iformation on the host-plant growth form of (the larva) of each species, which can be woody plants (labels "W", "WH", "WWH", "HW") or non-woody plants (labels "H", "HHW", "L"); specialism contains data on the degree of specialization of each species (three levels: oligophagous, polyphagous, monophagous); voltinism indicating the number of generations per season (multivoltine or univoltine); day_activity informing whether the species is diurnal (1) or nocturnal (0).
  • geom_bs_pam.nex Assignment of moth species into "small" or "large" based on partitioning of body size via PAM algorithm. The group indexes are used to fit the discrete models of correlated evolution.
  • geom_tree.nex Ultrametric phylogenetic tree with branch lengths in million years (i.e., dated phylogeny).
For more information contact:

Stenio I. A. Foerster

stenio.foerster@ut.ee

Funding

Estonian Research Council, Award: PRG741