Evolutionary and ecological processes influencing chemical defense variation in an aposematic and mimetic Heliconius butterfly.

ABSTRACT: Chemical defences against predators underlie the evolution of aposematic coloration and mimicry, which are classic examples of adaptive evolution. Surprisingly little is known about the roles of ecological and evolutionary processes maintaining defence variation, and how they may feedback to shape the evolutionary dynamics of species. Cyanogenic Heliconius butterflies exhibit diverse warning color patterns and mimicry, thus providing a useful framework for investigating these questions. We studied intraspecific variation in de novo biosynthesized cyanogenic toxicity and its potential ecological and evolutionary sources in wild populations of Heliconius erato along environmental gradients, in common-garden broods and with feeding treatments. Our results demonstrate substantial

SUBMITTER: Mattila ALK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8216171 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature