Fluctuating asymmetry and wing size of Argia tinctipennis Selys (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae) in relation to riparian forest preservation status.

Effects of riparian vegetation removal on body size and wing fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of Argia tinctipennis Selys (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) were studied in the River Suiá-Miçú basin, which is part of the Xingu basin in Brazilian Amazonia. A total of 70 specimens (n = 33 from preserved and n = 37 from degraded areas) was measured. Five wing measures of each wing (totalizing ten measured characters) were taken. Preserved and degraded points presented non-overlapped variations of a Habitat Integrity Index, supporting the environmental differentiation between these two categories. FA increases in degraded areas approximately four times for the width between the nodus and proximal portion of the pterostigma of forewings (FW), two times for the width of the wing in the region of nodus of FW, and approximately 1.7 times for the number of postnodal cells of FW. The increase is almost five times for the width between the nodus and the proximal portion of the pterostigma of hind wings (HW), three times for the number of postnodal cells of HW, and approximately 1.6 times the width between quadrangle and nodus of HW. Individuals of preserved sites were nearly 3.3% larger than for degraded sites, based on mean hind wing length. Our results supports that the development of A. tinctipennis in degraded areas is affected by riparian vegetation removal and may reflect in wing FA variations. Consequently, these FA measures may be a useful tool for bioassessment using Odonata insects as a model.