Microhabitat Preference and Thermoregulation of Two Incipient <i>Psolodesmus </i>Damselflies_supplementary.pdf

This study analyzed the perch sites of male <i>P. m. mandarinus </i>in Fushan and Lienhuachih, as well as random sites in the habitats. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) scanning was used to assess the canopy cover and openness in Fushan. To examine the function of thermoregulation in wings, heating experiments were conducted on damselfly specimens to record temperatures of the thorax and wing color patches. Flight performance experiments were also conducted to test the minimum temperature and time required for takeoff. The results revealed no significant differences between the perch and random sites of the two subspecies in terms of substrate, temperature, and light intensity, indicating that both subspecies had no habitat preferences. However, a comparison of perch sites between the northern and southern subspecies showed that the northern subspecies tended to perch on warmer and brighter sites. The analysis of environmental factors of microhabitat in both regions yielded similar results. LiDAR analysis indicated that the northern subspecies preferred microhabitats with higher canopy cover and lower openness.