10.5061/DRYAD.KV322
van Bergen, Erik
University of Cambridge
Barlow, Henry S.
University of Cambridge
Brattström, Oskar
University of Cambridge
Griffiths, Howard
University of Cambridge
Kodandaramaiah, Ullasa
University of Cambridge
Osborne, Colin P.
University of Sheffield
Brakefield, Paul M.
University of Cambridge
Data from: The stable isotope ecology of mycalesine butterflies:
implications for plant-insect co-evolution
Dryad
dataset
2017
larval ecology
C4 photosynthesis
mycalesine butterflies
plant–insect co-evolution
2017-04-07T00:00:00Z
2017-04-07T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12673
136136 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
One of the most dramatic examples of biome shifts in the geological record
is the rapid replacement of C3 vegetation by C4 grasses in (sub-) tropical
regions during the Late Miocene–Pliocene. Climate-driven biome shifts of
this magnitude are expected to have a major impact on diversification and
ecological speciation, especially in grazing taxa. Mycalesine butterflies
are excellent candidates to explore the evolutionary impact of these C3/C4
shifts on insect grazer communities. Mycalesine butterflies feed on
grasses as larvae, have radiated spectacularly and occur in almost all
extant habitats across the Old World tropics. However, at present, we lack
a comprehensive understanding of the larval ecology of these butterflies
and this hampers investigations of co-evolutionary patterns among the
geographically parallel radiations of mycalesine butterflies and the
remarkable evolutionary history of their host plants. By conducting
several experiments under defined environmental conditions, we demonstrate
that the feeding history of mycalesine larvae on C3 and C4 grasses can be
traced by analysing δ13C in the organic material of the adult exoskeleton,
while values of δ18O in the adult reflect atmospheric humidity during
larval development. To show the power of these isotopic proxies for
ecological studies, we analysed the isotopic composition of organic
material obtained from adult butterflies sampled in two extensive
longitudinal surveys. We observed strong associations among the larval
ecology, habitat preferences of the adult butterflies and patterns of
seasonality, such that mycalesine species that inhabit open environments
are more opportunistic in their host plant choice but utilize C3 grasses
more frequently during the dry season. Crucially, the ability to process
the less palatable C4 grasses appears to be phylogenetically clustered
within mycalesine species, suggesting that novel feeding adaptations may
have evolved in response to the ecological dominance of C4 grasses in open
savanna habitats.
Experiment AExperiment BExperiment CExperiment DGentingZomba