AI Article Synopsis
- The large white butterfly (Pieris brassicae) shows different wing colors in spring (darker) compared to summer (lighter), which may help with temperature regulation.
- Researchers examined how the butterfly's wing color affects lifespan and reproduction while raising them at different temperatures over three generations.
- Findings indicated low heritability for wing color, with butterflies from families that adapt better to temperature having shorter lifespans and lower reproductive success in hotter conditions, highlighting important implications for their evolution amidst climate change.
Article Abstract
The large white butterfly, Pieris brassicae, shows a seasonal polyphenism of wing melanisation, spring individuals being darker than summer individuals. This phenotypic plasticity is supposed to be an adaptive response for thermoregulation in natural populations. However, the variation in individuals' response, the cause of this variation (genetic, non genetic but inheritable or environmental) and its relationship with fitness remain poorly known. We tested the relationships between thermal reaction norm of wing melanisation and adult lifespan as well as female fecundity. Butterflies were reared in cold (18°C), moderate (22°C), and hot (26°C) temperatures over three generations to investigate variation in adult pigmentation and the effects of maternal thermal environment on offspring reaction norms. We found a low heritability in wing melanisation (h(2) =0.18). Rearing families had contrasted thermal reaction norms. Adult lifespan of males and females from highly plastic families was shorter in individuals exposed to hot developmental temperature. Also, females from plastic families exhibited lower fecundity. We did not find any effect of maternal or grand-maternal developmental temperature on fitness. This study provides new evidence on the influence of phenotypic plasticity on life history-traits' evolution, a crucial issue in the context of global change.
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|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3937413 | PMC |
| http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0090026 | PLOS |
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