Larval development under continuous and dynamic light pollution alters sexual dimorphism in a moth species

Larval development under artificial light at night (ALAN) can affect adult body mass, often in a sex-specific way. However, it is still unclear whether ALAN also affects other morphological traits. In this experimental study, we tested for differences in flight and fecundity-related morphology and wing melanisation in the noctuid moth Agrotis exclamationis, originating from populations under contrasting skyglow levels, and whose offspring were reared under either a dynamic ALAN, continuous ALAN or control dark treatment. In response to ALAN, adult body mass and wing size were affected in a sex-specific way, resulting in altered sexual size dimorphism. Wing aspect ratio was lower in populations originating from higher skyglow levels, but only in males. Under ALAN conditions, relatively more mass was allocated to the abdomen and less to the thorax. Sexual colour dimorphism was stronger in populations originating from higher skyglow levels, as males from these populations had lighter colou..., , # Data from: Larval development under continuous and dynamic light pollution alters sexual dimorphism in a moth species

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.0k6djhbdk](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0k6djhbdk)

## Description of the data and file structure

The dataset \"EVdS et al - AE_Morph.xlsx\" contains data on adult moth morphology. Larvae of a moth species (*Agrotis exclamationis*) originating from regions with different skyglow levels were grown under either: control dark nights, continuous ALAN or dynamic ALAN. For the resulting adults, we measured body mass, relative thorax and abdomen mass, wing morphology and wing melanisation. Missing values (i.e. \"NA\") are present when (i) the moths did not survive during larval development, (ii) the moths were no longer available for morpholgical measurements (due to other side experiments), or (iii) the wings got too damaged for measuring.

### Files and variables

#### File: EVdS_et_al_-_AE_Morph.xlsx

**Description:** This dataset contains all da...,