Host-plant dependent wing phenotypic variation in the neotropical butterfly Heliconius erato

Most phytophagous insects feed on a single plant during development, and this may influence not only performance‐linked traits, but also more subtle morphological differences. Insect–plant interactions are thus valuable for studying environmental influences on phenotypes. By using geometric morphome...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological journal of the Linnean Society 2011-04, Vol.102 (4), p.765-774
Main Authors: JORGE, LEONARDO R., CORDEIRO-ESTRELA, PEDRO, KLACZKO, LOUIS B., MOREIRA, GILSON R. P., FREITAS, ANDRÉ V. L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Biological evolution
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
geometric morphometrics
Heliconiini
Heliconius erato
Heliconius erato phyllis
Insecta
Invertebrates
Passiflora
Passifloraceae
plasticity
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Summary:Most phytophagous insects feed on a single plant during development, and this may influence not only performance‐linked traits, but also more subtle morphological differences. Insect–plant interactions are thus valuable for studying environmental influences on phenotypes. By using geometric morphometrics, we investigated the variation in forewing size and shape in the butterfly Heliconius erato phyllis reared on six species of passion vines (Passiflora spp.). We detected wing shape sexual dimorphism, for which the adaptive significance deserves further investigation. There was size as well as wing shape variation among individuals fed on different hosts. These subtle differences in shape were interpreted as environmental effects on development, which should be under weak natural selection for these traits, and therefore not strongly canalized. This result reinforces the role of plasticity on host‐plant use, as well as the corresponding consequences on developmental variability among phytophagous insects. We propose that this variation can be an important factor in resource specialization and partner recognition, possibly triggering reproductive isolation and sympatric speciation in phytophagous insects. This interaction also shows itself as a good model for studying the role of environmental and interaction diversity in evolution. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102, 765–774.
ISSN:0024-4066
1095-8312
DOI:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2010.01610.x