Skip to main content
Dryad

Data and code from: Landscape context affects physiological but not genetic proxies of butterfly movement

Riihimäki, Ulla1; Kökkö, Juho1; Palttala, Jenna2; Bechsgaard, Jesper3; Brun-Witt, Line3; Bilde, Trine34; Saastamoinen, Marjo1

Published May 27, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sn02v6xkb

Data files

May 27, 2026 version files 20.03 MB

Click names to download individual files

Abstract

Land-use change is a major driver of biodiversity loss, yet its effects on intraspecific variation in dispersal remain understudied. Dispersal influences species’ capacity to persist in fragmented landscapes, but whether agricultural landscapes filter individuals based on their dispersal is unclear. We quantified intra- and interspecific variation in dispersal proxies (flight metabolic rate, body mass, and wing size) in three butterfly species differing in dispersal ability, sampled from agricultural and meadow landscapes. To distinguish landscape filtering (spatial sorting), phenotypic plasticity, and genetic adaptation, we combined phenotypic measurements with population genomic analyses based on whole-genome sequencing. In Maniola jurtina, females from agricultural landscapes exhibited higher peak flight metabolic rates, body mass, and an increased ability to sustain flight. More sustained flight in agricultural landscapes was also observed for Pieris napi. No landscape-related differences were detected in Thymelicus lineola. Despite phenotypic divergence, population genetic structure was weak across landscapes, although elevated runs of homozygosity in two species suggested limited dispersal and an increase in inbreeding. Our results indicate that agricultural landscapes can act as filters on dispersal-related traits at small spatial scales. Variation in dispersal is present within and among species and is likely mediated by plasticity or spatial sorting rather than local genetic adaptation.