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Doré M, Willmott K, Lavergne S, Chazot N, Freitas AVL, Fontaine C, Elias M. Mutualistic interactions shape global spatial congruence and climatic niche evolution in Neotropical mimetic butterflies. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:843-857. [PMID: 36929564 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms underlying species distributions and coexistence is both a priority and a challenge for biodiversity hotspots such as the Neotropics. Here, we highlight that Müllerian mimicry, where defended prey species display similar warning signals, is key to the maintenance of biodiversity in the c. 400 species of the Neotropical butterfly tribe Ithomiini (Nymphalidae: Danainae). We show that mimicry drives large-scale spatial association among phenotypically similar species, providing new empirical evidence for the validity of Müller's model at a macroecological scale. Additionally, we show that mimetic interactions drive the evolutionary convergence of species climatic niche, thereby strengthening the co-occurrence of co-mimetic species. This study provides new insights into the importance of mutualistic interactions in shaping both niche evolution and species assemblages at large spatial scales. Critically, in the context of climate change, our results highlight the vulnerability to extinction cascades of such adaptively assembled communities tied by positive interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maël Doré
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, MNHN-CNRS-Sorbonne Université-EPHE-Université des Antilles, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.,Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, UMR 7204 MNHN-CNRS-Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Keith Willmott
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Sebastien Lavergne
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, Grenoble, France
| | - Nicolas Chazot
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - André V L Freitas
- Departamento de Biologia Animal and Museu de Diversidade Biológica, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Colin Fontaine
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, UMR 7204 MNHN-CNRS-Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Marianne Elias
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, MNHN-CNRS-Sorbonne Université-EPHE-Université des Antilles, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, Panama
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Iwashita G, Yamawo A, Kondoh M. Predator discrimination of prey promotes the predator-mediated coexistence of prey species. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220859. [PMID: 36483759 PMCID: PMC9727501 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The predator discrimination of prey can affect predation intensity and the prey density dependence of predators, which has the potential to alter the coexistence of prey species. We used a predator-prey population dynamics model accounting for the predator's adaptive diet choice and predator discrimination of prey to investigate how the latter influences prey coexistence. The model revealed that (i) prey species that are perceived as belonging to the same species by a predator are attacked in the same manner, and it is more difficult for them to coexist than those that are recognized as different prey species, and (ii) prey species that are not discriminated by a predator-and therefore cannot coexist-may coexist in the presence of an alternative predator that does discriminate between them. These results suggest that prey diversity, which favours the predator discrimination of prey, and the different capabilities of predators to identify prey species both enhance prey coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gen Iwashita
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University Japan, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
| | - Akira Yamawo
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki Aomori 036-8561, Japan
| | - Michio Kondoh
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University Japan, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
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3
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Wainwright JB, Montgomery SH. Neuroanatomical shifts mirror patterns of ecological divergence in three diverse clades of mimetic butterflies. Evolution 2022; 76:1806-1820. [PMID: 35767896 PMCID: PMC9540801 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Microhabitat partitioning in heterogenous environments can support more diverse communities but may expose partitioned species to distinct perceptual challenges. Divergence across microhabitats could therefore lead to local adaptation to contrasting sensory conditions across small spatial scales, but this aspect of community structuring is rarely explored. Diverse communities of ithomiine butterflies provide an example where closely related species partition tropical forests, where shifts in mimetic coloration are tightly associated with shifts in habitat preference. We test the hypothesis that these mimetic and ecological shifts are associated with distinct patterns of sensory neural investment by comparing brain structure across 164 individuals of 16 species from three ithomiine clades. We find distinct brain morphologies between Oleriina and Hypothyris, which are mimetically homogenous and occupy a single microhabitat. Oleriina, which occurs in low-light microhabitats, invests less in visual brain regions than Hypothyris, with one notable exception, Hyposcada anchiala, the only Oleriina sampled to have converged on mimicry rings found in Hypothyris. We also find that Napeogenes, which has diversified into a range of mimicry rings, shows intermediate patterns of sensory investment. We identify flight height as a critical factor shaping neuroanatomical diversity, with species that fly higher in the canopy investing more in visual structures. Our work suggests that the sensory ecology of species may be impacted by, and interact with, the ways in which communities of closely related organisms are adaptively assembled.
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Kikuchi DW, Herberstein ME, Barfield M, Holt RD, Mappes J. Why aren't warning signals everywhere? On the prevalence of aposematism and mimicry in communities. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:2446-2460. [PMID: 34128583 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Warning signals are a striking example of natural selection present in almost every ecological community - from Nordic meadows to tropical rainforests, defended prey species and their mimics ward off potential predators before they attack. Yet despite the wide distribution of warning signals, they are relatively scarce as a proportion of the total prey available, and more so in some biomes than others. Classically, warning signals are thought to be governed by positive density-dependent selection, i.e. they succeed better when they are more common. Therefore, after surmounting this initial barrier to their evolution, it is puzzling that they remain uncommon on the scale of the community. Here, we explore factors likely to determine the prevalence of warning signals in prey assemblages. These factors include the nature of prey defences and any constraints upon them, the behavioural interactions of predators with different prey defences, the numerical responses of predators governed by movement and reproduction, the diversity and abundance of undefended alternative prey and Batesian mimics in the community, and variability in other ecological circumstances. We also discuss the macroevolution of warning signals. Our review finds that we have a basic understanding of how many species in some taxonomic groups have warning signals, but very little information on the interrelationships among population abundances across prey communities, the diversity of signal phenotypes, and prey defences. We also have detailed knowledge of how a few generalist predator species forage in artificial laboratory environments, but we know much less about how predators forage in complex natural communities with variable prey defences. We describe how empirical work to address each of these knowledge gaps can test specific hypotheses for why warning signals exhibit their particular patterns of distribution. This will help us to understand how behavioural interactions shape ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- David W Kikuchi
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Wallotstraße 19, Berlin, Germany.,Evolutionary Biology, Universität Bielefeld, Konsequez 45, Bielefeld, 33615, Germany
| | - Marie E Herberstein
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Wallotstraße 19, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2109, Australia
| | - Michael Barfield
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611-8525, U.S.A
| | - Robert D Holt
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611-8525, U.S.A
| | - Johanna Mappes
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Wallotstraße 19, Berlin, Germany.,Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Helsinki University, Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, FI-40014, Finland
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Habitat generalist species constrain the diversity of mimicry rings in heterogeneous habitats. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5072. [PMID: 33658554 PMCID: PMC7930205 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83867-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
How evolution creates and maintains trait patterns in species-rich communities is still an unsolved topic in evolutionary ecology. One classical example of community-level pattern is the unexpected coexistence of different mimicry rings, each of which is a group of mimetic species with the same warning signal. The coexistence of different mimicry rings in a community seems paradoxical because selection among unpalatable species should favor convergence to a single warning pattern. We combined mathematical modeling based on network theory and numerical simulations to explore how different types of selection, such as mimetic and environmental selections, and habitat use by mimetic species influence the formation of coexisting rings. We show that when habitat and mimicry are strong sources of selection, the formation of multiple rings takes longer due to conflicting selective pressures. Moreover, habitat generalist species decrease the distinctiveness of different mimicry rings’ patterns and a few habitat generalist species can generate a “small-world effect”, preventing the formation of multiple mimicry rings. These results may explain why the coexistence of mimicry rings is more common in groups of animals that tend towards habitat specialism, such as butterflies.
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