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Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients

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Differences in the selection response of serially repeated color pattern characters: standing variation, development,

Cerisse E Allen¹, Patrícia Beldade, Bas J Zwaan

¹Institute of Biology, Leiden University, PO Box 9516 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. c.e.allen@biology.leidenuniv.nl

BMC Evolutionary Biology

|March 28, 2008

Summary

Developmental processes bias evolution. Butterfly eyespot size evolves flexibly, but color composition only changes when coordinated, revealing how developmental constraints shape evolutionary diversification.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Developmental genetics
Morphological evolution

Background:

Morphological diversity arises from developmental processes, which can introduce evolutionary biases by facilitating or limiting certain phenotypic changes.
Understanding how developmental mechanisms influence the rate and direction of evolution within populations under selection is crucial.
Butterfly wing eyespots, varying in size and color composition, provide a model system to study developmental constraints on evolutionary change.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how artificial selection for coordinated versus independent changes in butterfly eyespot size and color composition affects evolutionary responses.
To determine if developmental differences between eyespot size and color composition underlie differential evolutionary trajectories.

Main Methods:

Applied artificial selection targeting coordinated and antagonistic changes in eyespot size and color composition in butterfly populations.
Compared the evolutionary responses of eyespot size and color composition under different selection regimes.

Main Results:

Eyespot size demonstrated flexible evolution in all selected directions, influenced by local inductive signaling properties.
Eyespot color composition evolved only in the direction of coordinated change, showing no independent evolutionary response to antagonistic selection.
Differences in evolutionary response align with observed wing pattern diversity across butterfly genera.

Conclusions:

Developmental compartmentalization significantly influences the diversification of serially repeated structures like butterfly eyespots, even under strong selection.
Differential evolutionary responses of size and color composition highlight the role of underlying developmental mechanisms in shaping evolutionary trajectories.