RESUMO
The extent of aerial flows of insects circulating around the planet and their impact on ecosystems and biogeography remain enigmatic because of methodological challenges. Here we report a transatlantic crossing by Vanessa cardui butterflies spanning at least 4200 km, from West Africa to South America (French Guiana) and lasting between 5 and 8 days. Even more, we infer a likely natal origin for these individuals in Western Europe, and the journey Europe-Africa-South America could expand to 7000 km or more. This discovery was possible through an integrative approach, including coastal field surveys, wind trajectory modelling, genomics, pollen metabarcoding, ecological niche modelling, and multi-isotope geolocation of natal origins. The overall journey, which was energetically feasible only if assisted by winds, is among the longest documented for individual insects, and potentially the first verified transatlantic crossing. Our findings suggest that we may be underestimating transoceanic dispersal in insects and highlight the importance of aerial highways connecting continents by trade winds.
Assuntos
Borboletas , Voo Animal , Animais , Borboletas/fisiologia , Voo Animal/fisiologia , Vento , Ecossistema , América do Sul , Europa (Continente) , Migração Animal/fisiologia , Pólen , África , Distribuição AnimalRESUMO
Hybridization events are frequently demonstrated in natural butterfly populations. One interesting butterfly complex species is the Enantia jethys complex that has been studied for over a century; many debates exist regarding the species composition of this complex. Currently, three species that live sympatrically in the Gulf slope of Mexico (Enantia jethys, E. mazai, and E. albania) are recognized in this complex (based on morphological and molecular studies). Where these species live in sympatry, some cases of interspecific mating have been observed, suggesting hybridization events. Considering this, we employed a multilocus approach (analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear sequences: COI, RpS5, and Wg; and nuclear dominant markers: inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSRs) to study hybridization in sympatric populations from Veracruz, Mexico. Genetic diversity parameters were determined for all molecular markers, and species identification was assessed by different methods such as analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA), clustering, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), gene flow, and PhiPT parameters. ISSR molecular markers were used for a more profound study of hybridization process. Although species of the Enantia jethys complex have a low dispersal capacity, we observed high genetic diversity, probably reflecting a high density of individuals locally. ISSR markers provided evidence of a contemporary hybridization process, detecting a high number of hybrids (from 17% to 53%) with significant differences in genetic diversity. Furthermore, a directional pattern of hybridization was observed from E. albania to other species. Phylogenetic study through DNA sequencing confirmed the existence of three clades corresponding to the three species previously recognized by morphological and molecular studies. This study underlines the importance of assessing hybridization in evolutionary studies, by tracing the lineage separation process that leads to the origin of new species. Our research demonstrates that hybridization processes have a high occurrence in natural populations.
Assuntos
DNA Mitocondrial/genética , Evolução Molecular , Variação Genética , Lepidópteros/genética , Animais , MéxicoRESUMO
Se reporta el redescubrimiento de Mimoniades baroni (Godman & Salvin, 1895) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Pyrrhopyginae), en Cajamarca, Perú. La especie no había sido registrada desde su descripticón original, hace casi 110 años.