Unveiling the Wing Shape Variation in Northern Altiplano Ecosystems: The Example of the Butterfly Using Geometric Morphometrics.

The Andean Altiplano, characterized by its extreme climatic conditions and high levels of biodiversity, provides a unique environment for studying ecological and evolutionary adaptations in insect morphology. Butterflies, due their large wing surface compared to body surface, and wide distribution among a geographical area given the flight capabilities provided by their wings, constitute a good biological model to study morphological adaptations following extreme weathers. This study focuses on , a butterfly species widely distributed in the Andes, to evaluate wing shape variation across six localities in the Northern Chilean Altiplano.

Deciphering the Hearts: Geometric Morphometrics Reveals Shape Variation in Sea Urchins across Subantarctic and Antarctic Seas.

is a genus of irregular brooding sea urchins to the Southern Ocean. Among the 11 described species, three shared morphological traits and present an infaunal lifestyle in the infralittoral from the Subantarctic province; in Patagonia, in Kerguelen, and in Tierra del Fuego and South Shetlands. The systematic of , based on morphological characters and incomplete phylogenies, is complex and largely unresolved.

Breaking the Law: Is It Correct to Use the Converse Bergmann Rule in ? An Overview Using Geometric Morphometrics.

The converse Bergmann's rule is a pattern of body size variation observed in many ectothermic organisms that contradicts the classic Bergmann's rule and suggests that individuals inhabiting warmer climates tend to exhibit larger body sizes compared to those inhabiting colder environments. Due to the thermoregulatory nature of Bergmann's rule, its application among ectotherms might prove to be more complicated, given that these organisms obtain heat by absorbing it from their habitat. The existence of this inverse pattern therefore challenges the prevailing notion that larger body size is universally advantageous in colder climates.

Unraveling biotypes of the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens s.l. (Diptera: Culicidae): molecular differentiation and morphometric analysis.

Geometric morphometrics was used to determine whether geographic isolation could explain differences in wing size and shape between and within continental (27°S to 41°S) and insular (Rapa Nui) populations of Culex pipiens s.s. Linnaeus and their biotypes (f.

To and fro in the archipelago: Repeated inter-island dispersal and New Guinea's orogeny affect diversification of Delias, the world's largest butterfly genus.

The world's largest butterfly genus Delias, commonly known as Jezebels, comprises ca. 251 species found throughout Asia, Australia, and Melanesia. Most species are endemic to islands in the Indo-Australian Archipelago or to New Guinea and nearby islands in Melanesia, and many species are restricted to montane habitats over 1200 m.

An outsider on the Antarctic Peninsula: A new record of the non-native moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

We report the first record of the microlepidopteran beyond the South Shetland Islands at the Chilean Yelcho scientific station (64°52'33.1428″ S; 63°35'1.9572″ W), Doumer Island, close to the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Unraveling the Sexual Dimorphism of First Instar Nymphs of the Giant Stick Insect, Gray, 1835, from the Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

The first instar nymphs, both male and female, of the giant stick insect Gray, 1835 were carefully described and measured, revealing a remarkable sexual dimorphism that is considered rare among insects and is poorly explored in the order Phasmida. The studied F1 nymphs originated in captivity from eggs laid by a coupled female specimen collected in the Atlantic Forest in the vicinity of Petrópolis city, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The first instar nymphs of were measured and illustrated in high-resolution photographs to show the general aspects and details of sexually dimorphic traits, making clear the phenotypic differences in the sexes.

Wing Shape Variation between Terrestrial and Coastal Populations of the Invasive Box Tree Moth, , in Croatia.

The box tree moth ( Walker, 1859; Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is an invasive species naturally distributed in Asia. The caterpillars in all developmental stages cause damage through defoliation of plants, and ultimately the death of the plant itself may occur. It is possible to recognize this species by its silk barriers and threads, and in the case of an intense attack, the entire plant will be covered with them.

Integrative species delimitation in the common ophiuroid (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea): insights from COI, ITS2, arm coloration, and geometric morphometrics.

(Say, 1825) is one of the most common and well-known ophiuroids in the Western Atlantic, with a wide geographic and bathymetric range. The taxonomy of this species has been controversial for a century because of its high morphological variability. Here we integrate information from DNA sequence data, color patterns, and geometric morphometrics to assess species delimitation and geographic differentiation in .

Bergmann's Rule under Rocks: Testing the Influence of Latitude and Temperature on a Chiton from Mexican Marine Ecoregions.

Bergmann's rule relates the trend of increasing body size with higher latitudes, where colder climates are found. In the Mexican Pacific, three marine ecoregions are distinguishable across a latitudinal gradient. is an abundant chiton species that is distributed on rocky shores in these ecoregions.

A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins.

Butterflies are a diverse and charismatic insect group that are thought to have evolved with plants and dispersed throughout the world in response to key geological events. However, these hypotheses have not been extensively tested because a comprehensive phylogenetic framework and datasets for butterfly larval hosts and global distributions are lacking. We sequenced 391 genes from nearly 2,300 butterfly species, sampled from 90 countries and 28 specimen collections, to reconstruct a new phylogenomic tree of butterflies representing 92% of all genera.

Description of Bothriurus mistral n. sp., the highest-dwelling Bothriurus from the western Andes (Scorpiones, Bothriuridae), using multiple morphometric approaches.

We describe Bothriurus mistral n. sp. (Scorpiones, Bothriuridae) from the Chilean north-central Andes of the Coquimbo Region.

Ecomorphology and Morphological Disparity of Caquetaia Kraussii (Perciformes: Cichlidae) in Colombia.

Understanding the interspecific morphological variability of Caquetaia kraussii (Perciformes: Cichlidae) between different localities in its distribution range is becoming essential, as this species constitutes a valuable resource for the economy and subsistence of the local human communities where it is endemic in Colombia and Venezuela. In order to develop efficient farming and handling plans for this species, a deep understanding of the factors and mechanisms generating morphological variability is crucial. This study analyzes the morphological variability of by using geometric morphometrics in four localities distributed between the Dique and North channels, which are part of the Bolívar department in Colombia.

Unraveling the morphological patterns of a subantarctic eelpout: a geometric morphometric approach.

Phenotypic variation in organisms depends on the genotype and the environmental constraints of the habitat that they exploit. Therefore, for marine species inhabiting contrasting aquatic conditions, it is expected to find covariation between the shape and its spatial distribution. We studied the morphology of the head and cephalic sensory canals of the eelpout Austrolycus depressiceps (4.

Evolvability in the Cephalothoracic Structural Complexity of (Crustacea: Decapoda) Determined by a Developmental System with Low Covariational Constraint.

The integration of complex structures is proportional to the intensity of the structural fusion; its consequences are better known than the covariational effects under less restrictive mechanisms. The synthesis of a palimpsest model based on two early parallel pathways and a later direct pathway explains the cephalothoracic complexity of decapod crustaceans. Using this model, we tested the evolvability of the developmental modularity in , an anomuran crab with an evident adaptive sexual dimorphism.

Genetics, Morphometrics and Health Characterization of Green Turtle Foraging Grounds in Mainland and Insular Chile.

Two divergent genetic lineages have been described for the endangered green turtle in the Pacific Ocean, occurring sympatrically in some foraging grounds. Chile has seven known green turtle foraging grounds, hosting mainly juveniles of different lineages. Unfortunately, anthropic factors have led to the decline or disappearance of most foraging aggregations.

Morphological Stasis in Time? A Study Using Geometric Morphometrics in the Long Run.

Neiva, 1911 is one of the most important vectors of Chagas disease in the Brazilian semiarid regions in the north-east. The risk imposed by to the human populations, due to frequent invasions and/or colonization of the domiciles, demands constant monitoring and control actions as well as an understanding of its evolutionary process. In this context, the following research studies the pattern of shape adaptation over time using a large dataset from 102 years of specimen collections in order to identify the morphological plasticity of this vector in Brazil.

Insularity and Aridity as Drivers of Mandibular Disparity in (Waterhouse, 1839) from Populations of the Atacama Desert, Chile.

Island ecosystems differ in several elements from mainland ecosystems and may induce variations related to natural selection and patterns of adaptation in most aspects of the biology of an organism. (Waterhouse, 1839) is a marsupial endemic to Chile, distributed from Loa River to Concepción. Historically, three subspecies have been described: , and .

Wing Integration and Modularity: A Multi-Level Approach to Understand the History of Morphological Structures.

Static, developmental, and evolutionary variation are different sources of morphological variation which can be quantified using morphometrics tools. In the present study we have carried out a comparative multiple level study of integration (i.e.

Exploratory Analysis of Color Forms' Variability in the Invasive Asian Lady Beetle (Pallas 1773).

The Asian ladybird ( Pallas), native to Asia, is one of the 100 most invasive species in the world and has spread worldwide. This study aimed to characterize color forms of in Croatia and to analyze the variability of wing shape between populations and indicated forms. Geometric morphometric methods were used to analyze a total of 129 left and right wings in males and 126 left and right wings in females of collected from four different sites in Croatia.

Green, yellow or black? Genetic differentiation and adaptation signatures in a highly migratory marine turtle.

Marine species may exhibit genetic structure accompanied by phenotypic differentiation related to adaptation despite their high mobility. Two shape-based morphotypes have been identified for the green turtle () in the Pacific Ocean: the south-central/western or yellow turtle and north-central/eastern or black turtle. The genetic differentiation between these morphotypes and the adaptation of the black turtle to environmentally contrasting conditions of the eastern Pacific region has remained a mystery for decades.

Measuring the Inter and Intraspecific Sexual Shape Dimorphism and Body Shape Variation in Generalist Ground Beetles in Russia.

Ground beetles in multiple species vary greatly in the expression of the shape on sexual traits, resulting in a sexual shape dimorphism as a consequence of sexual selection differences. The present research focuses on the study of inter and intrasexual sexual shape dimorphism of two generalist genera of ground beetles and . Geometric morphometric methods were applied to five generalist species of ground beetles , , , , and and several multivariate analyses were applied for two different traits, abdomen and elytra.