DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Costs and Constraints of Wing Melanism in a Butterfly

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Dissertation Research:Costs and Constraints of Wing Melanism in a ButterflyPI: Marlene Zuk and Andrew M. StoehrThis research will examine the consequences of seasonal wing pattern variation (plasticity) for immune defense and mating behaviors in the butterfly Pieris rapae. First, this research will determine if P. rapae wing patterns and immune defense trade off due to their common reliance on melanin pigment. This will be accomplished through experimental manipulations that induce differential variation in wing melanin and immune defense melanin. Second, this research will determine if wing patterns function in communication in the context of mating and if seasonal differences in wing pattern are important in this context. This will be accomplished through experimental manipulations of wing patterns and behavioral experiments on mating behavior. These experiments will address how the seasonal changes in wing pattern and the mechanistic link between wing patterns and immune defense through melanin interact to shape the evolution of these traits. Intellectual merit: This research will contribute to our understanding of immune defense; the potential information content of mating signals in an ecological and behavioral context; the interaction between phenotypic and developmental plasticity; and the significance of melanism. Broader impacts: The research will enable undergraduates normally interested only in medicine to use science as a problem-solving tool and to see the broad value of organismal biology.