Collaborative Research - Phylogenetic Analysis of a Model Insect Group for Ecological and Evolutionary Study: neotropical Ithomiine Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

俄勒冈州立大学的安德鲁·布劳尔博士以及佛罗里达大学的托马斯·埃梅尔和基思·威尔莫特博士获得了一项合作赠款，以对类人科蝴蝶之间的关系进行综合的系统发育分析。一个多世纪以来，进化生物学家和生物地理学家一直对这些热带蝴蝶感兴趣，因为它们参与了复杂的、地理上不同的模仿环。不同种类的类人猿，以及其他各种蝴蝶种群的代表，进化出了外观相似、颜色鲜艳的翅膀图案，这让捕食者对它们印象深刻。因为蝴蝶是有毒的，鲜艳的颜色图案是一个警告，以避免看起来相似的个体，因此在共同的信号系统中共享有很大的好处。这种复杂适应的结果是，不相关的物种可能看起来几乎相同，使理解该群体中物种和属之间的关系的努力复杂化。Willmott和Emmel将对成虫的形态和染色体变异进行分支分析。布劳尔将通过研究DNA序列中的其他特征来补充这一努力。其目标是基于对形态、染色体结构和分子数据的综合分析，为这50个左右的属之间的关系产生一个强有力的系统发育假说。这将为解决许多其他动植物群体之间类似的复杂情况提供一个模式系统，并将使我们能够更好地了解我们星球上的生物多样性是如何发展的。

DEB-0089886Andrew V. BrowerA collaborative grant has been awarded to Dr. Andrew Brower at Oregon State University and Drs. Thomas Emmel and Keith Willmott at the University of Florida to conduct an integrated phylogenetic analysis of relationships among the ithomiine butterflies. These tropical butterflies have been of interest to evolutionary biologists and biogeographers for more than a century, because they participate in complex, geographically varying mimicry rings. Different species of ithomiines, along with representatives of various other butterfly groups, have evolved similar-looking, brightly-colored wing patterns that make them memorable to predators. Because the butterflies are poisonous, the bright color pattern serves as a warning to avoid similar looking individuals, and thus there is a great benefit to sharing in the common signaling system. The result of this complex adaptation is that unrelated species may look virtually identical, complicating efforts to understand the relationships among species and genera in the group. Willmott and Emmel will conduct cladistic analyses of adult morphology and chromosome variation. Brower will complement that effort with study of additional characters from DNA sequences. The goal is to produce a robust phylogenetic hypothesis for relationships among the 50 or so genera based upon combined analysis of morphology, chromosomal structure, and molecular data. This will provide a model system for addressing similar complex situations among many other groups of animals and plants, and will allow a better understanding of how biodiversity on our planet has developed.