Analysing Phenology and Migration of Amazonian Butterflies under Climate Change

迁徙是昆虫对季节性环境的广泛适应。尽管如此，昆虫在热带地区的迁徙仍然知之甚少。Panacea prola是一种亚马逊蝴蝶，在秘鲁东南部季节性迁徙。由于气候和土地利用的变化，亚马逊地区的生物多样性正在以前所未有的速度丧失。通过了解迁徙的驱动因素，以及同一物种不同种群之间的连通性，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徙的环境因素的可预测性。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的影响；2)万灵药的迁移范围有多广；3)如何诱导P. prola的迁移，重点关注其寄主植物的物候。我将通过绘制物种分布图和寻找与气候数据的相关性来实现这些目标；利用稳定同位素分析确定迁徙个体的出生来源；利用全基因组测序技术寻找本地和远缘螺旋藻种群之间的基因流动；利用遥感数据追踪寄主植物物候，并将其与假单胞虫的迁移时间联系起来。

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.