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Environmental stress and quantitative genetic variation in butterfly wing characteristics

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Abstract

Butterfly wing characteristics are extensively used as model system in studies of development, quantitative genetics and phenotypic plasticity. In spite of its evolutionary relevance, however, the effect of stress on the expression of genetic variation itself has only rarely been studied. In this paper, we explore genetic variation of wing characteristics of the Speckled wood Pararge aegeria along a host plant drought stress gradient. Forewing area, basal and distal degree of melanization and the area of five yellow wing spots were measured. We found an increase in (additive) genetic variation in degree of melanization at higher drought stress, and a similar, yet non-significant, relationship for forewing size. As a result, both the upper limits of the narrow-sense heritability and the coefficient of additive genetic variation of wing size and melanization increased with drought stress. Patterns for the different yellow wing spots were less consistent, suggesting trait-specificity in the relationships between genetic variation and environmental stress.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a research grant of the Fund of Scientific Research Belgium-Flanders (FWO No 154.5403). We thank two reviewers for their valuable suggestion on earlier drafts of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Group of Evolutionary Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, Antwerp, 2020, Belgium

    W. Talloen & S. Van Dongen

  2. Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Biology Group, Ecology and Biogeography Unit, Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    H. Van Dyck

  3. Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium

    L. Lens

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  1. W. Talloen
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  2. S. Van Dongen
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  3. H. Van Dyck
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  4. L. Lens
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Correspondence to S. Van Dongen.

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Talloen, W., Van Dongen, S., Van Dyck, H. et al. Environmental stress and quantitative genetic variation in butterfly wing characteristics. Evol Ecol 23, 473–485 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-008-9246-4

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