Fluctuating asymmetry in Coenagrion resolutum (Hagen) in relation to age and male pairing success (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae)

Recent evidence suggests that fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of characters may index either stress during development of organisms, or be related to fitness of individuals following development. The Authors tested whether wing FA of C. resolutum was related to damselfly age and to male pairing success. It was predicted that younger individuals should have higher FA on average as compared to older individuals if FA was related to damselfly survival. It was found that younger individuals had higher FA than older individuals over all sampling dates combined. However, this relation was due to the inclusion of one of three comparisons between pre-reproductive and mature insects, and was not a general phenomenon. Wing FA was not related to male pairing success. The results suggest that character FA can be related to fitness measures of damselflies, but not in a highly repeatable way. Data are also provided on seasonal changes in mite parasitism and body size that may relate to our finding FA-fitness relations restricted to one period of the flight season.