EAPSI: Using the Trans-Pacific Dispersal of the Monarch Butterfly to Better Understand Its Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation

黑脉金斑蝶（Danaus plexippus）以其在北美的活动范围而闻名，但最近也在几乎每个太平洋岛链上建立了自己的地位。由于地理上的隔离，这些岛屿上的帝王蝶种群提供了理想的？自然实验?因为他解决了关于帝王蝶的生态和进化问题。该项目将重点关注博物馆标本和来自澳大利亚的活捕帝王蝶。迁徙和非迁徙的黑脉金斑蝶在哪里共存？并将与Myron Zalucki博士（昆士兰大学）合作。他是研究太平洋岛屿帝王蝶的顶级专家。本研究的结果将有助于更好地理解(1)控制帝王蝶迁徙的基因和环境线索；(2)迁徙和非迁徙帝王蝶在形态、行为和与寄生虫的相互作用方面的差异；(3)马利筋寄主植物应对帝王蝶食草性的策略。这些信息将有助于制定保护北美黑脉金斑蝶的策略，这些黑脉金斑蝶目前正在申请联邦保护地位。长期以来，大洋岛屿一直是了解当代和长期时间尺度上的进化过程的宝贵自然实验室。太平洋岛屿上的帝王蝶为研究从迁徙到非迁徙状态的转变以及与马利筋寄主植物的独立重新联系提供了复制的自然实验。在这个项目中，我将重点关注澳大利亚帝王蝶（包括博物馆标本和活体捕获的个体）和它们的马利筋寄主植物。这将使我能够回答以下问题：(1)与迁徙状态相关的帝王蝶翅膀形态和触角昼夜节律表达的短期进化，(2)原生动物寄生虫电囊虫（Ophryocystis elektroschirrha）的流行和毒力，以及(3)新型马利筋寄主植物的抗性和/或耐受性特征的进化。这项研究的结果将有助于更好地了解黑脉金斑蝶的基本生物学，并可能有助于其保护。该奖项由美国国家科学基金会和澳大利亚科学院共同资助，隶属于东亚和太平洋暑期研究所项目，支持美国研究生进行暑期研究。

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are best-known from their North American range but more recently have also become established on nearly every Pacific island chain. Because of their geographic isolation, these island populations of monarch butterflies provide ideal ?natural experiments? for addressing ecological and evolutionary questions about the monarch butterfly. This project will focus on museum specimens and live-caught monarchs from Australia?where populations of migratory and non-migratory monarchs co-occur?and will be in collaboration with Dr. Myron Zalucki (University of Queensland), the world?s foremost expert on Pacific island monarchs. Results from this research will contribute to a better understanding of (1) the genes and environmental cues that govern monarch migration, (2) how migratory and non-migratory monarchs may differ in their morphology, behavior, and interactions with parasites and (3) the strategies employed by milkweed host plants to cope with monarch herbivory. This information will contribute to strategies for protecting North American monarchs, which are currently being petitioned for federally protected status. Oceanic islands have long served as valuable natural laboratories for understanding evolutionary processes over both contemporary and long-term time scales. Monarch butterflies on Pacific islands provide replicated natural experiments for investigating transitions from migratory to non-migratory status as well independent re-associations with their milkweed host plants. For this project, I will focus on Australian monarchs (both museum specimens and live-caught individuals) and their milkweed host plants. This will enable me to answer questions about (1) the short-term evolution of monarch wing morphology and antennal circadian rhythm expression in relation to migratory status, (2) the prevalence and virulence of the protozoan parasite Ophryocystis elektroschirrha, and (3) the evolution of resistance and/or tolerance traits in novel milkweed host plants. The results of this research will contribute to a greater understanding of the basic biology of the monarch butterfly and potentially aid in its conservation. This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Australian Academy of Science.