User:Hannah-Walton12/sandbox

Draft/Outline:
Species: Pachydiplax longipennis

The overview, diet, and habitat of this organism were already written for this Wikipedia article. I will add the sections titled Distribution, Dispersal, Diet and Feeding, and Mating Behavior.

Distribution:
- P. longipennis is a commonly spotted dragonfly species in the United States, and this species is found in many types of habitats. These habitats generally consist of some kind of body of water, like a stream, river, or lake. This species is at a low vulnerability in regard to conservation.

o Source: White, Erin L., Pamela D. Hunt, Matthew D. Schlesinger, Jeffrey D. Corser, and Phillip G. deMaynadier. 2014. A conservation status assessment of Odonata for the northeastern United States. New York Natural Heritage Program, Albany, NY.

- This species has now been spotted in lower portions of Canada (Ottawa), and it is suggested that climate change is allowing for a broadening of this species’ distribution.

o Source: Catling, P. M. (2016). Climate warming as an explanation for the recent northward range extension of two dragonflies, Pachydiplax longipennis and Perithemis tenera, into the Ottawa Valley, Eastern Ontario. The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 130(2), 122-132.

Dispersal:
- Males of this species exhibit territorial behavior, often leading to repercussions for males that are not as large as other males. Smaller males tend to be driven away from breeding grounds by larger males, resulting in these smaller males dispersing to other areas. This could be important in further studies of population genetics and gene flow of this species.

o   Source: McCauley, S. J. (2010). Body size and social dominance influence breeding dispersal in male Pachydiplax longipennis (Odonata). Ecological Entomology, 35(3), 377-385.

Mating Behavior:
- This dragonfly species tends to have territorial males that will defend their mate while the female is ovipositing in order to prevent invasion of territory and increase ovipositing time.

o   Source: Sherman, K. J. (1983). The adaptive significance of postcopulatory mate guarding in a dragonfly, Pachydiplax longipennis. Animal Behaviour, 31(4), 1107-1115.

- Mating behavior is also influenced by larval ecology- the needs of the nymph (larvae) to survive in their environment effect the female ovipositing choice, which then effects the male’s mating behavior.

o   Source: Buskirk, R. E., & Sherman, K. J. (1985). The influence of larval ecology on oviposition and mating strategies in dragonflies. Florida Entomologist, 39-51.

Diet and Feeding: I am going to add in a few sentences to the existing Diet section of the article and go into how this species finds food (foraging behavior).
- The foraging behavior of this dragonfly is influenced by many different factors, such as external temperature, prey availability, and perch position. P. longipennis tends to forage on really tiny prey, which differs from the nonselective foraging behavior of other Odonata species. This species also moves to different foraging sites frequently, meaning they do not stay put in one place long to search for food.

o   Baird, J. M., & May, M. L. (1997). Foraging behavior of Pachydiplax longipennis (Odonata: Libellulidae). Journal of Insect Behavior, 10(5), 655-678.

- This dragonfly also exhibits aggressive behavior when foraging for food. Interestingly, both males and females take part in this aggression when looking for prey. P. longipennis will engage in this behavior towards individuals of the same species and individuals of other species, but males tend to fight (and win) more often than females. It seems that the more successful an individual is using aggression, then the more likely they will gain a better perch and thus increase their chance to find prey.

o   Baird, J. M., & May, M. L. (2003). Fights at the dinner table: agonistic behavior in Pachydiplax longipennis (Odonata: Libellulidae) at feeding sites. Journal of Insect Behavior, 16(2), 189-216.

- It is suggested that the larvae of P. longipennis demonstrate a preference for microhabitats that provide protection from predators. However, this choice to stay protected may change if the larvae is starving.

o Wellborn, G. A., & Robinson, J. V. (1987). Microhabitat selection as an antipredator strategy in the aquatic insect Pachydiplax longipennis Burmeister (Odonata: Libellulidae). Oecologia, 71(2), 185-189.