Summary
Heliconius butterflies have been found to have low rates of dispersal in previous mark-recapture studies, and this lack of movement is due home-range behavior. An experiment on Heliconius erato was designed to investigate movement from the site of pupal eclosion. It was found that most of the movement occurs before the first capture of an individual in a mark-recapture study. After incorporating this early movement, the dispersal parameter, σ, is estimated to be at least 296 m (±30 m jackknifed standard error), and the “neighborhood population size”, N, is about 50–150 individuals. These estimates of σ and N are more than 2 and 5 times larger, respectively, than estimates based on standard mark-recapture data, though they are small compared with estimates from other butterfly species. Severe limitations of using dispersal experiments to estimate gene flow and neighborhood size are discussed. Genetic data from color pattern loci in hybrid zones and from electrophoresis suggest that, if anything, the estimates of σ and N that I have obtained are still too low. Genetic and dispersal data together show that kin selection is an unlikely mechanism for the evolution of warning color and other supposed altruisms in Heliconius, unless occasional genetic drift is also involved.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barton NH, Charlesworth B (1984) Genetic revolutions, founder effects, and speciation. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 15:133–164
Barton NH, Hewitt GM (1981) Hybrid zones and speciation. In: Atchley WR, Woodruff D (eds) Evolution and speciation. Essays in honour of MJD White. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, pp 109–145
Begon M (1977) The effective size of a natural population of Drosophila subobscura. Heredity 38:13–18
Benson WW (1971) Evidence for the evolution of unpalatability through kin-selection in the Heliconiinae (Lepidoptera). Am Nat 105:213–226
Brown KS (1981) The biology of Heliconius and related genera. Ann Rev Entomol 26:427–456
Brown KS, Benson WW (1974) Adaptive polymorphism associated with multiple Müllerian mimicry in Heliconius numata. Biotropica 6:205–228
Brown KS, Vasconcellos Neto J (1976) Predation of aposematic ithomiine butterflies by tanagers (Pipraeida melanonota). Biotropica 8:136–141
Brown KS, Damman AJ, Feeny P (1981) Troidine swallowtails in southeastern Brazil: natural history and foodplant relationships. J Res Lepid 19:199–226
Calvert WH, Hedrick LE, Brower LP (1979) Mortality of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) at five overwintering sites in Mexico. Science 204:847–851
Carson HL, Templeton AR (1984) Genetic revolutions in relation to speciation phenomena: the founding of new populations. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 15:97–131
Cook LM, Thomason EW, Young AM (1976) Population structure, dynamics and dispersal of the tropical butterfly Heliconius charitonius. J Anim Ecol 45:851–863
Crow JF, Kimura M (1970) An introduction to population genetics theory. Burgess, Minneapolis
Crumpacker DW, Williams JS (1973) Density, dispersion, and population structure in Drosophila pseudoobscura. Ecol Monogr 43:499–538
Dethier VG, MacArthur RH (1964) A field's capacity to support a butterfly population. Nature 201:728–729
Dunlap-Pianka HL (1979) Ovarian dynamics in Heliconius butterflies: correlations among daily oviposition rates, egg weights, and quantitative aspects of oogenesis. J Insect Physiol 25:741–749
Dunlap-Pianka HL, Boggs CL, Gilbert LE (1977) Ovarian dynamics in heliconiine butterflies: programmed senescence versus eternal youth. Science 197:487–490
Eanes WF, Koehn RK (1979) An analysis of genetic structure in the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. Evolution 32:784–797
Edmunds M (1974) Defence in animals. Longmans, Harlow, Essex, England
Ehrlich PR, Gilbert LE (1973) Population structure and dynamics of the tropical butterfly Heliconius ethilla. Biotropica 5:69–82
Ehrlich PR, Raven PH (1969) Differentiation of populations. Science 165:1228–1232
Ehrlich PR, Launer AE, Murphy DD (1984) Can sex ratio be defined or determined? The case of a population of checkerspot butterflies. Am Nat 124:527–539
Ehrman L, Probber J (1978) Rare Drosophila males: the mysterious matter of choice. Amer Sci 66:216–222
Endler JA (1977) Geographic variation, speciation, and clines. Princeton Univ Press, Princeton
Endler JA (1979) Gene flow and life history patterns. Genetics 93:263–284
Felsenstein J (1976) The theoretical population genetics of variable selection and migration. Ann Rev Genet 10:253–280
Fisher RA (1930) The genetical theory of natural selection. Clarendon Press, Oxford
Gilbert LE (1969) Some aspects of the ecology and community structure of ithomid butterflies in Costa Rica. Research report, OTS advanced course. Ciudad Universitaria, Costa Rica, pp 68–92
Gilbert LE (1976) Postmating female odor in Heliconius butterflies: a male-contributed antiaphrodisiac? Science 193:419–420
Gilbert LE (1977) The role of insect plant coevolution in the organization of ecosystems. In: Labeyrie V (ed) Le comportement des insectes et les signaux issus du mileu trophique. CNRS, Paris, p 413
Gilbert LE (1984) The biology of butterfly communities. In: Vane-Wright RI, Ackery PR, (eds) The biology of butterflies. Symp Roy Ent Soc Lond 11. Academic Press, London, pp 41–54
Gottlieb LD (1981) Electrophoretic evidence and plant populations. Progr Phytochem 7:1–46
Greenwood JJD (1974) Effective population numbers in the snail Cepea nemoralis. Evolution 28:513–526
Greenwood PJ (1980) Mating systems, philopatry and dispersal in birds and mammals. Anim Behav 28:1140–1162
Harvey PH, Greenwood PJ (1978) Anti-predator defence strategies: some evolutionary problems. In: Krebs JR, Davies NB (eds) Behavioural Ecology. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 129–151
Harvey PH, Bull JJ, Pemberton M, Paxton RJ (1982) The evolution of aposematic coloration in distasteful prey: a family model. Am Nat 119:710–719
Hiam AW (1982) Airborne models and flying mimics. Nat Hist 91(4):42–49
Johnson CG (1969) Migration and dispersal of insects by flight. Methuen, London
Kerster HW (1964) Neighborhood size in the rusty lizard, Sceloporus olivaceus. Evolution 18:445–457
Lederhouse RC (1983) Population structure, residency and weather related mortality in the black swallowtail butterfly, Papilio polyxenes. Oecologia (Berlin) 59:307–311
Levin DA, Kerster HW (1974) Gene flow in seed plants. Evolutionary Biol 7:139–220
Lewontin RC (1974) The genetic basis of evolutionary change. Columbia Univ Press, NY
Longino JT (1984) Shoots, parasitoids, and ants as forces in the population dynamics of Heliconius hewitsoni in Costa Rica. PhD dissertation, Univ Texas, Austin
Mallet J (1984) Population structure and evolution of Heliconius butterflies. PhD dissertation, Univ Texas, Austin
Mallet J (1985) Hybrid zones of Heliconius butterflies in Panama and the stability and movement of warning color clines. Heredity (in press)
Mallet J, Jackson DA (1980) The ecology and social behaviour of the Neotropical butterfly Heliconius xanthocles Bates in Columbia. Zool J Linn Soc 70:1–13
Mosteller F, Tukey JW (1977) Data analysis and regression. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.
Nevo E (1978) Genetic variation in natural populations: patterns and theory. Theoret Pop Biol 13:121–177
Richardson RH (1970) Models and analyses of dispersal patterns In: Kojima K (ed) Mathematical topics in population genetics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, pp 79–103
Scott JA (1973) Population biology and adult behavior of the circumpolar butterfly, Parnassius phoebus. Ent Scand 4:161–168
Shields WM (1982) Philopatry, inbreeding, and the evolution of sex. SUNY Press, Albany
Slatkin M (1981) Estimating levels of gene flow in natural populations. Genetics 99:323–335
Slatkin M (1985) Rare alleles as indicators of gene flow. Evolution 39:53–65
Smiley JT (1978) The hostplant ecology of Heliconius butterflies in northeastern Costa Rica. PhD dissertation, Univ Texas, Austin
Taylor CE, Powell JR, Kekic V, Jelkovic M, Burla H (1984) Dispersal rates of the Drosophila obscura group: implications for population structure. Evolution 38:1397–1401
Turner JRG (1971a) Experiments on the demography of tropical butterflies. II. Longevity and home-range behaviour in Heliconius erato. Biotropica 3:21–31
Turner JRG (1971b) Studies of Müllerian mimicry and its evolution in burnet moths and heliconiine butterflies. In: Creed ER (ed) Ecological genetics and evolution. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 224–260
Turner JRG (1984) Mimicry: the palatability spectrum and its consequences. In: Vane-Wright RI, Ackery PR (eds) The biology of butterflies. Symp Roy Ent Soc Lond 11. Academic Press, London, pp 141–161
Turner JRG, Johnson MS, Eanes WF (1979) Contrasted modes of evolution in the same genome: allozymes and adaptive change in Heliconius. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76:1924–1928
Urquhart FA (1960) The monarch butterfly. Toronto
Waller DA, Gilbert LE (1982) Roost recruitment and resource utilization: observations on a Heliconius charitonia L. roost in Mexico (Nymphalidae). J Lepid Soc 36:178–184
Watt WB, Chew FS, Snyder LRG, Watt AG, Rothschild DE (1977) Population structure of pierid butterflies. I. Numbers and movements of some montane Colias species. Oecologia (Berlin) 27:1–22
Watt WB, Han D, Tabashnik BE (1979) Population structure of pierid butterflies. II. A “native” population of Colias philodice eriphyle in Colorado. Oecologia (Berlin) 44:44–52
Wilson EO (1975) Sociobiology: the new synthesis. Belknap, Cambridge, Mass.
Wright S (1931) Evolution in Mendelian populations. Genetics 10:97–159
Wright S (1951) The genetical structure of populations. Ann Eugen 15:323–354
Wright S (1969) Evolution and genetics of populations. Volume 2. The theory of gene frequencies. Univ Chicago Press, Chicago
Wright S (1978) Evolution and the genetics of populations. Volume 4. Variability between and among natural populations. Univ Chicago Press, Chicago
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mallet, J. Dispersal and gene flow in a butterfly with home range behavior: Heliconius erato (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Oecologia 68, 210–217 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384789
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384789