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Halali S, Halali D, Barlow HS, Molleman F, Kodandaramaiah U, Brakefield PM, Brattström O. Predictability of temporal variation in climate and the evolution of seasonal polyphenism in tropical butterfly communities. J Evol Biol 2021; 34:1362-1375. [PMID: 34173293 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity in heterogeneous environments can provide tight environment-phenotype matching. However, the prerequisite is a reliable environmental cue(s) that enables organisms to use current environmental information to induce the development of a phenotype with high fitness in a forthcoming environment. Here, we quantify predictability in the timing of precipitation and temperature change to examine how this is associated with seasonal polyphenism in tropical Mycalesina butterflies. Seasonal precipitation in the tropics typically results in distinct selective environments, the wet and dry seasons, and changes in temperature can be a major environmental cue. We sampled communities of Mycalesina butterflies from two seasonal locations and one aseasonal location. Quantifying environmental predictability using wavelet analysis and Colwell's indices confirmed a strong periodicity of precipitation over a 12-month period at both seasonal locations compared to the aseasonal one. However, temperature seasonality and periodicity differed between the two seasonal locations. We further show that: (a) most females from both seasonal locations synchronize their reproduction with the seasons by breeding in the wet season but arresting reproduction in the dry season. In contrast, all species breed throughout the year in the aseasonal location and (b) species from the seasonal locations, but not those from the aseasonal location, exhibited polyphenism in wing pattern traits (eyespot size). We conclude that seasonal precipitation and its predictability are primary factors shaping the evolution of polyphenism in Mycalesina butterflies, and populations or species secondarily evolve local adaptations for cue use that depend on the local variation in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sridhar Halali
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Dheeraj Halali
- Department of Biodiversity, Abasaheb Garware College, Pune, Maharashtra, India
| | | | - Freerk Molleman
- Department of Systematic Zoology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Ullasa Kodandaramaiah
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
| | | | - Oskar Brattström
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,African Butterfly Research Institute (ABRI), Nairobi, Kenya.,School of Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.,Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
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Bergen E, Barlow HS, Brattström O, Griffiths H, Kodandaramaiah U, Osborne CP, Brakefield PM. The stable isotope ecology of mycalesine butterflies: implications for plant–insect co‐evolution. Funct Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Erik Bergen
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Downing Street Cambridge CB2 3EJ UK
| | - Henry S. Barlow
- Genting Tea Estate P.O. Box 10139 50704 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
| | - Oskar Brattström
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Downing Street Cambridge CB2 3EJ UK
| | - Howard Griffiths
- Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Cambridge CB2 3EA UK
| | - Ullasa Kodandaramaiah
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Downing Street Cambridge CB2 3EJ UK
- School of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram CET Campus Trivandrum 695016 India
| | - Colin P. Osborne
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN UK
| | - Paul M. Brakefield
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Downing Street Cambridge CB2 3EJ UK
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