Convergence in sympatric swallowtail butterflies reveals ecological interactions as a key driver of worldwide trait diversification.

ABSTRACT: Ecological interactions can promote phenotypic diversification in sympatric species. While competition can enhance trait divergence, other ecological interactions may promote convergence in sympatric species. Within butterflies, evolutionary convergences in wing color patterns have been reported between distantly related species, especially in females of palatable species, where mimetic color patterns are promoted by predator communities shared with defended species living in sympatry. Wing color patterns are also often involved in species recognition in butterflies, and divergence in this trait has been reported in closely related species living in sympatry as a result of reproductive character displacement. Here, we investigate the effect of sympatry between species on the convergence vs

SUBMITTER: Puissant A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10500277 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature