<b>More than just a shift in color: interplay between body size, ontogeny, and survival in a territorial damselfly</b>

Intraspecific variation in life history traits exists across a fast-slow continuum in many taxa with profound consequences on physiology, behavior, and fitness. Theoretical predictions suggest that attaining reproductive maturation faster may confer the advantage of earlier mating opportunities; however, it may also entail costs such as accelerated senescence. Here, we test this hypothesis by studying the ontogenetic color changes of a secondary sexual trait (abdominal pink spot) in a territorial damselfly (<i>Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis</i> Selys) to assess its correlation with the survival rate of adults. We carried out capture-mark-recapture of adults combined with repeated photography of the secondary sexual trait, then we used Cormack-Jolly-Seber models to determine the influence of the pace of life, age, and body size on survival rates. We found intraspecific variability in ontogenetic color changes of the secondary sexual trait. The pace of ontogenetic color changes was negatively correlated with body size, with larger individuals exhibiting later expression of abdominal pink spot compared to smaller individuals. Interestingly, the survival rate of individuals declined with age, and this decline was faster in individuals that exhibited faster ontogenetic color changes. Our findings suggest that the pace of ontogenetic color changes in adults could be used as a proxy for the pace of life to explain variation in fitness-related traits.