Isotope geolocation and population genomics in <i>Vanessa cardui:</i> Short- and long-distance migrants are genetically undifferentiated.

ABSTRACT: The painted lady butterfly Vanessa cardui is renowned for its virtually cosmopolitan distribution and the remarkable long-distance migrations as part of its annual, multigenerational migratory cycle. In winter, V. cardui individuals inhabit breeding grounds north and south of the Sahara, suggesting distinct migratory behaviors within the species as individuals migrate southward from Europe in the autumn. However, the evolutionary and ecological factors shaping these differences in migratory behavior remain largely unexplored. Here, we performed whole-genome resequencing and analyzed the hydrogen and strontium isotopes of 40 V. cardui individuals simultaneously collected in the autumn from regions both north and south of the Sahara. Our investigation revealed two main m

SUBMITTER: Reich MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11792081 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature