Rajabi H, Stamm K, Appel E, Gorb S N
Institute of Zoology, Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
Institute of Zoology, Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
Arthropod Struct Dev. 2018 Jul;47(4):442-448. doi: 10.1016/j.asd.2018.01.003. Epub 2018 Jan 19.
Adult dragonflies can be divided into two major groups, perchers and fliers, exhibiting notably different flight behaviour. Previous studies have yielded conflicting results regarding the link between the wing macro-morphology and flight style in these two groups. In this study, we present the first systematic investigation of the micro-morphological differences of wings of percher and flier dragonflies in four closely related species from the family Libellulidae. Our results suggest that the shape and material composition of wing microstructural components and, in particular, the nodus are adapted to facilitate the specific wing functioning in fliers and perchers. The findings further indicate a decreasing trend in the area proportion of the soft resilin-dominated cuticle in the nodus in the series of species from typical perchers to typical fliers. Such a reduction in the resilin proportion in the nodus of fliers is associated with an increase in the wing aspect ratio. The knot-shaped protrusion at the nodus of perchers, which becomes notably smaller in that of strong fliers, is likely to act as a mechanical stopper, avoiding large wing displacements. This study aims to develop a novel framework for future research on the relationship between wing morphology and flight behaviour in dragonflies.
成年蜻蜓可分为两大类，即栖息型和飞行型，它们表现出明显不同的飞行行为。先前的研究在这两类蜻蜓的翅宏观形态与飞行方式之间的联系上得出了相互矛盾的结果。在本研究中，我们首次对来自蜻科的四个近缘物种中栖息型和飞行型蜻蜓翅膀的微观形态差异进行了系统研究。我们的结果表明，翅微观结构成分的形状和材料组成，特别是翅结，经过了适应性调整，以促进飞行型和栖息型蜻蜓特定的翅功能。研究结果还表明，在从典型的栖息型到典型的飞行型这一系列物种中，翅结处由柔软的弹性蛋白主导的表皮的面积比例呈下降趋势。飞行型蜻蜓翅结处弹性蛋白比例的这种降低与翅展比的增加有关。栖息型蜻蜓翅结处的结状突出在飞行能力强的蜻蜓中明显变小，它可能起到机械止动器的作用，避免翅膀大幅移位。本研究旨在为未来关于蜻蜓翅形态与飞行行为之间关系的研究建立一个新的框架。
