10.5061/DRYAD.H9W0VT4J5
Ogilvie, James
0000-0003-2487-7336
Auburn University
Van Belleghem, Steven
University of Puerto Rico System
Range, Ryan
Auburn University
Papa, Riccardo
University of Puerto Rico System
McMillan, Owen
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Chouteau, Mathieu
University of French Guiana
Counterman, Brian
Auburn University
Balanced polymorphisms and their divergence in a Heliconius butterfly
Dryad
dataset
2021
FOS: Biological sciences
Agence Nationale de la Recherche
https://ror.org/00rbzpz17
ANR-10-LABX-25-01
National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/021nxhr62
1736026
2022-12-01T00:00:00Z
2022-12-01T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5716202
14911 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The evolution of mimicry in similarly defended prey is well described by
Müllerian mimicry theory, which predicts the convergence of warning
patterns in order to gain the most protection from predators. However,
despite this prediction, we can find great diversity of color patterns
amongst Müllerian mimics such as Heliconius butterflies in the neotropics.
Furthermore, some species have evolved the ability to maintain multiple
distinct warning patterns in single populations, a phenomenon known as
polymorphic mimicry. The adaptive benefit of these polymorphisms is
questionable since variation from the most common warning patterns is
expected to be disadvantageous as novel signals are punished by predators
naive to them. In this study we use artificial butterfly models throughout
Central and South America to characterize the selective pressures
maintaining polymorphic mimicry in Heliconius doris. Our results highlight
the complexity of positive frequency-dependent selection, the principal
selective pressure driving convergence amongst Müllerian mimics, and its
impacts on interspecific variation of mimetic warning coloration. We
further show how this selection regime can both limit and facilitate the
diversification of mimetic traits.
We made artificial models of Heliconius doris butterflies, 100 of each of
4 morphs for a total of 400 per transect. These models were placed on
leaves, trunks or twigs in visible, well-lit areas at 10m intervals along
a 4 kilometer transect in each site. The placement of each model was
carried out so as to mimic the natural perching behavior of Heliconius
butterflies and provide a visible target for potential avian predators.
The distinct model morphs were placed along the transect in a regular
order. From 376 to 416 models were placed per site and left for 72 hours,
after which, models were collected. Damage was clearly visible in the
malleable wax bodies and paper wings of several models. Damages were
catalogued as either (i) “invertebrate attack” when bearing the visible
fine marks of arthropod mandibles, often on the wax bodies, (ii) “Avian
Attack” when bearing the characteristic U or V shape marks on the wax or
(iii) “Unknown Predator” when a severe attack was evident but a specific
mark was not found, such as when wings were torn or wax bodies broken in
pieces. Models that bore attack marks characteristic of invertebrates were
not included in the data analysis (n= 97 out of 2,271), as there is
currently no literature regarding invertebrates carrying the cognitive
capacity necessary to make the associations between unpalatability and
warning color patterns central to Müllerian mimicry. Furthermore, missing
models were also excluded from the analyses as we are unable to determine
if they were displaced by falling forest debris, human action or attacked
by natural predators.