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Dryad

Scale-dependent environmental effects on phenotypic distributions in Heliconius butterflies

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Sep 15, 2022 version files 1.93 GB

Abstract

Examining how environmental factors influence phenotypic distribution might provide valuable information about local adaptation, divergence, and speciation. The red-yellow Müllerian mimicry ring of Heliconius butterflies displays a wide range of color patterns across the Neotropics and is involved in several hybrid zones, making it an excellent system to study color phenotypic distribution. Using a multiscale distribution strategy, we studied whether different phenotypes of the distantly related species H. erato and H. melpomene, belonging to the red-yellow mimetic ring, are associated with different environmental conditions. We show that environmental gradients (particularly heat and precipitation factors) drive Heliconius phenotypic distributions, but that phenotype and environmental correlations vary with spatial scale. While co-mimics are frequently found in similar environments at a broad scale, patterns at the local level are not necessarily consistent (different variables are the best predictors of phenotypic occurrence in different areas) or congruent (co-mimic pairs show distinct associations with the environment). Thus, large-scale analysis may help to identify how environmental heterogeneity influences broad mimic phenotypic distributions, but local studies are needed to understand the context-dependent biotic, abiotic, and historical mechanisms that drive finer-scale phenotypic shifts.