Pollen feeding in Heliconius butterflies: the singular evolution of an adaptive suite.

ABSTRACT: Major evolutionary transitions can be triggered by behavioural novelty, and are often associated with 'adaptive suites', which involve shifts in multiple co-adapted traits subject to complex interactions. Heliconius butterflies represent one such example, actively feeding on pollen, a behaviour unique among butterflies. Pollen feeding permits a prolonged reproductive lifespan, and co-occurs with a constellation of behavioural, neuroanatomical, life history, morphological and physiological traits that are absent in closely related, non-pollen-feeding genera. As a highly tractable system, supported by considerable ecological and genomic data, Heliconius are an excellent model for investigating how behavioural innovation can trigger a cascade of adaptive shifts in multiple diver

SUBMITTER: Young FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7735275 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature