Analysing Phenology and Migration of Amazonian Butterflies under Climate Change

迁徙是昆虫对季节性环境的一种广泛适应。尽管如此，热带地区的昆虫迁徙仍然知之甚少。Panacea prola是一种季节性迁徙到秘鲁东南部的亚马逊蝴蝶。由于气候和土地使用的变化，亚马逊地区的生物多样性正在以前所未有的速度消失。通过了解迁移的驱动因素以及同一物种不同种群之间的联系，我们可以更好地预测昆虫将如何应对气候变化，这降低了可能导致迁移的环境线索的可预测性。在这个项目中，我的目标是确定1）蝴蝶物种多样性和丰度的模式如何受到季节性的影响; 2）Panacea prola的迁移有多广泛; 3）P. prola的迁移是如何诱导的，重点是其宿主植物的物候学。我将通过绘制物种发生图并寻找与气候数据的相关性来实现这些目标;使用稳定同位素分析来确定迁移个体的纳塔尔起源;使用全基因组测序来寻找本地和遥远的P. prola种群之间的基因流;并使用遥感数据来跟踪宿主植物物候并将其与P. prola迁移时间相关联。

Migration is a widespread adaptation to seasonal environments in insects. Despite this, insect migrations in the tropics remain poorly understood. Panacea prola is an Amazonian butterfly that migrates seasonally in Southeastern Peru. Biodiversity in the Amazon is being lost at an unprecedented rate, due to climate and land-use changes. By understanding the drivers of migration, and the connectivity of different populations of the same species, we can better predict how insects will respond to climate change, which is reducing the predictability of environmental cues that may induce migration. In this project I aim to determine 1) how patterns in butterfly species diversity and abundance are affected by seasonality; 2) how widespread the migration of Panacea prola is; and 3) how the migration of P. prola is induced, focussing on the phenology of its host plant. I will achieve these aims through mapping species occurrence and looking for correlations with climate data; using stable isotope analysis to determine the natal origins of migratory individuals; using whole genome sequencing to look for gene flow between local and distant P. prola populations; and using remote sensing data to track host plant phenology and relating this to P. prola migration timings.