Human‐modified habitats imperil ornamented dragonflies less than their non‐ornamented counterparts at local, regional, and continental scales

• Published in: Ecology letters 2024-06, Vol.27 (6), p.e14455-n/a
• Main Authors: Moore, Michael P., Leith, Noah T., Fowler‐Finn, Kasey D., Medley, Kim A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Aquatic insects; Biological Evolution; citizen science; Coloration; Ecosystem; extinction; Extinction, Biological; global change; Odonata; Odonata - physiology; odonate; Phylogeny; Population genetics; Sexual selection; Spatial analysis; Species extinction; Taxa; Threatened species
• ISSN: 1461-023X; 1461-0248; 1461-0248
• DOI: 10.1111/ele.14455

Biologists have long wondered how sexual ornamentation influences a species' risk of extinction. Because the evolution of condition‐dependent ornamentation can reduce intersexual conflict and accelerate the fixation of advantageous alleles, some theory predicts that ornamented taxa can be buffered against extinction in novel and/or stressful environments. Nevertheless, evidence from the wild remains limited. Here, we show that ornamented dragonflies are less vulnerable to extinction across multiple spatial scales. Population‐occupancy models across the Western United States reveal that ornamented species have become more common relative to non‐ornamented species over >100 years. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that ornamented species exhibit lower continent‐wide extinction risk than non‐ornamented species. Finally, spatial analyses of local dragonfly assemblages suggest that ornamented species possess advantages over non‐ornamented taxa at living in habitats that have been converted to farms and cities. Together, these findings suggest that ornamented taxa are buffered against contemporary extinction at local, regional, and continental scales. Here, the authors show that ornamented dragonflies are less vulnerable to extinction across local, regional, and continental scales. These results support the theoretical prediction that sexual selection, or the traits it favours, can buffer species against environmental change.