ABSTRACT
Abstract Newly hatched caterpillars of the butterfly Heliconius erato phyllis routinely cannibalize eggs. In a manifestation of kin recognition they cannibalize sibling eggs less frequently than unrelated eggs. Previous work has estimated the heritability of kin recognition in H. erato phyllis to lie between 14 and 48%. It has furthermore been shown that the inheritance of kin recognition is compatible with a quantitative model with a threshold. Here we present the results of a preliminary study, in which we tested for associations between behavioral kin recognition phenotypes and AFLP and SSR markers. We implemented two experimental approaches: (1) a cannibalism test using sibling eggs only, which allowed for only two behavioral outcomes (cannibal and non-cannibal), and (2) a cannibalism test using two sibling eggs and one unrelated egg, which allowed four outcomes [cannibal who does not recognize siblings, cannibal who recognizes siblings, "super-cannibal" (cannibal of both eggs), and "super non-cannibal" (does not cannibalize eggs at all)]. Single-marker analyses were performed using χ2 tests and logistic regression with null markers as covariates. Results of the χ2 tests identified 72 associations for experimental design 1 and 73 associations for design 2. Logistic regression analysis of the markers found to be significant in the χ2 test resulted in 20 associations for design 1 and 11 associations for design 2. Experiment 2 identified markers that were more frequently present or absent in cannibals who recognize siblings and super non-cannibals; i.e. in both phenotypes capable of kin recognition.
ABSTRACT
As populações de Heliconius erato phyllis (Fabricius, 1775) e Heliconius ethilla narcaea Godart, 1819 foram quantificadas em uma reserva florestal de mata semi-decídual na região central do Brasil, durante o período de um ano. As subespécies apresentaram tamanho populacional similar, mas com distintos padrões. A razão sexual foi diferente entre as subespécies: H. erato phyllis apresentou mais fêmeas e H. ethilla narcaea mais machos, na maioria dos meses. Variação sazonal no tamanho dos indivíduos foi observada em ambas as populações, entretanto, a distribuição da classe etária foi diferente entre os meses e as subespécies. Assim, os resultados desse estudo demonstraram que as populações de H. erato phyllis e H. ethilla narceae apresentam semelhanças em seu tamanho, mas com propriedades e variações mensais distintas.
The populations of Heliconius erato phyllis (Fabricius, 1775) and Heliconius ethilla narcaea Godart, 1819 were monitored in a semi-deciduous forest reserve in the central region of Brazil, during the one-year period. Both subspecies presented similar population size but distinct population patterns. The sex ratio was different between the subspecies: H. erato phyllis tending to have more females and H. ethilla narceae males, in most of the observations. Seasonal variation in the adult size was observed in both populations studied, however, the distribution of the adult age structure was different between over the months and subspecies. Thus, the results of this study demonstrated that populations of H. erato phyllis and H. ethilla narceae exhibit similar population size, but distinct properties and monthly variations.
Subject(s)
Butterflies , Ecosystem , BiodiversityABSTRACT
An extensive search for larvae was carried out in the lowland Caribbean side of Costa Rica in 2006 and 2007 to find valuable taxonomic information concerning Mimoides swallowtails. Females of Mimoides pausanias prasinus were observed laying eggs on a tree of Annona amazonica R. E. Fr. and Mimoides euryleon clusoculis on a tree of Rollinia pittieri Saff. The live material was reared at the Insect Museum of the University of Costa Rica on their respective host-plant. Both species share very similar color patterns on larvae and pupal shape. M. pausanias lasted 48 days from egg oviposition to adult emerging while M. euryleon lasted 51 days.