Population dynamics of Mortonagrion hirosei (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)

Abstract

The mark-and-recapture method was used to study the population dynamics of the endangered brackish water species, Mortonagrion hirosei, in a small reed community of an estuary in the warm-temperate zone of Japan. The flying season was from late May to early August. The age structure showed that newly emerged adults always stayed in the reed community and the maiden flight did not involve leaving the colony area. Although reed communities were abundant in the estuary, it appears possible that none or only very few of the individuals emigrated. Thus, both sexually immature and mature adults coexisted in the same reed community. The average distance covered by daily movements was 1.7 and 3.3 m for immature and mature males respectively, which were longer than those for females. Since the average durations of the immature and reproductive periods were respectively about 5 and 30 days in both sexes, the individuals may have moved less than 110 m throughout their life span, which corresponds to twice the length of the habitat. The estimated daily number of adults in the community was about 200 in 2000 and 500 in 2001. As the population was isolated, the estimated input of new individuals into the population had to be the number of individuals emerging. Thus, the total number of adults in both years was estimated to be about 5,000 and 6,000 respectively.

Keywords: Odonata, dragonfly, brackish water, isolated habitat, reed community, longevity, population density, dispersal, Mortonagrion hirosei

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