| 1. |
- Aduse-Poku, Kwaku, et al.
(författare)
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Expanded molecular phylogeny of the genus Bicyclus (Lepidoptera : Nymphalidae) shows the importance of increased sampling for detecting semi-cryptic species and highlights potentials for future studies
- 2017
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Ingår i: Systematics and Biodiversity. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1477-2000 .- 1478-0933. ; 15:2, s. 115-130
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The genus Bicyclus is one of the largest groups of African butterflies, but due to the generally cryptic nature and seasonal variation of adult wing patterns, there has been a lot of systematic confusion. With a large research community working with the model species Bicyclus anynana there has been increasing interest in the evolutionary history of the genus. A previous phylogeny started to unravel interesting patterns, but only included 61% of the then known species. With a range of new species having been described in the last decade there has been a need for an updated phylogeny for the genus. We present the most complete phylogeny of Bicyclus yet, including 93% of the currently 103 recognized species and make a range of taxonomic revisions. We revise the status of four previous subspecies and synonymized taxa that in the light of the new genetic data are raised to species level. We also subsume two subspecies and describe a new species, Bicyclus collinsi sp. nov., based on both genetic and morphological evidence. A further new taxon is identified, but not described at this point due to lack of morphological data. Our phylogeny lays a solid foundation for better understanding the evolution of Bicyclus and highlights key species-groups and complexes with intriguing ecological patterns making them prime candidates for future studies. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2F775351-097E-4CD7-8F8F-A90B26D52DE8
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| 2. |
- Aduse-Poku, Kwaku, et al.
(författare)
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Miocene Climate and Habitat Change Drove Diversification in Bicyclus, Africa's Largest Radiation of Satyrine Butterflies
- 2022
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Ingår i: Systematic Biology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1063-5157 .- 1076-836X. ; 71:3, s. 570-588
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Compared to other regions, the drivers of diversification in Africa are poorly understood. We studied a radiation of insects with over 100 species occurring in a wide range of habitats across the Afrotropics to investigate the fundamental evolutionary processes and geological events that generate and maintain patterns of species richness on the continent. By investigating the evolutionary history of Bicyclus butterflies within a phylogenetic framework, we inferred the group's origin at the Oligo-Miocene boundary from ancestors in the Congolian rainforests of central Africa. Abrupt climatic fluctuations during the Miocene (ca. 19-17 Ma) likely fragmented ancestral populations, resulting in at least eight early-divergent lineages. Only one of these lineages appears to have diversified during the drastic climate and biome changes of the early Miocene, radiating into the largest group of extant species. The other seven lineages diversified in forest ecosystems during the late Miocene and Pleistocene when climatic conditions were more favorable-warmer and wetter. Our results suggest changing Neogene climate, uplift of eastern African orogens, and biotic interactions have had different effects on the various subclades of Bicyclus, producing one of the most spectacular butterfly radiations in Africa. [Afrotropics; biodiversity; biome; biotic interactions; Court Jester; extinction; grasslands; paleoclimates; Red Queen; refugia forests; dependent-diversification; speciation.].
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| 3. |
- Aduse-Poku, Kwaku, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular phylogeny and generic-level taxonomy of the widespread palaeotropical 'Heteropsis clade' (Nymphalidae : Satyrinae: Mycalesina)
- 2016
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Ingår i: Systematic Entomology. - : Wiley. - 0307-6970. ; 41:4, s. 717-731
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mycalesine butterfly genus Heteropsis Westwood, 1850 (Satyrinae: Mycalesina) has recently been conceived to be represented in three major palaeotropical regions (Madagascar, Africa and Asia), but there has been no formal taxonomic treatment covering this entire group. Studies aimed at understanding the evolutionary success of Mycalesina in the Old World tropics have been hampered by the lack of both a robust phylogeny and a stable nomenclature for this satyrine subtribe. Here, we present a well-supported molecular phylogeny based on 10 genes and 133 exemplar taxa, representing almost all known species groups of Heteropsis (s.l.), and including all but four known species in Madagascar. We also combine sequences of the exemplars with a morphological matrix of 428 characters. The widespread 'Heteropsis clade' is confirmed as monophyletic, but lineages in different geographic regions also form endemic and well-supported clades with deep divergences among them. Here we establish this group as comprising three genera, Heteropsis (Malagasy region only), Telinga Moore, 1880 (Asia), and Brakefieldia gen.n. (Africa). We recover the genera Telinga and Brakefieldia as sisters with high support. Each genus is taxonomically characterized and a revised synonymic checklist is appended with new combinations and some changes in rank. With a well-resolved topology and updates to the taxonomy of the group, researchers are now in a position to explore the drivers of the spectacular radiation of the group, notably in Madagascar, where the highest phenotypic and species diversity occurs.
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| 4. |
- Aduse-Poku, Kwaku, et al.
(författare)
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Systematics and historical biogeography of the Old World butterfly subtribe Mycalesina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)
- 2015
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Ingår i: BMC Evolutionary Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2148. ; 15, s. 167-167
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Butterflies of the subtribe Mycalesina have radiated successfully in almost all habitat types in Africa, Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, Indo-China and Australasia. Studies aimed at understanding the reasons behind the evolutionary success of this spectacular Old World butterfly radiation have been hampered by the lack of a stable phylogeny for the group. Here, we have reconstructed a robust phylogenetic framework for the subtribe using 10 genes from 195 exemplar taxa. RESULTS: We recovered seven well supported clades within the subtribe corresponding to the five traditional genera (Lohora, Heteropsis, Hallelesis, Bicyclus, Mycalesis), one as recently revised (Mydosama) and one newly revised genus (Culapa). The phylogenetic relationships of these mycalesine genera have been robustly established for the first time. Within the proposed phylogenetic framework, we estimated the crown age of the subtribe to be 40 Million years ago (Mya) and inferred its ultimate origin to be in Asia. Our results reveal both vicariance and dispersal as factors responsible for the current widespread distribution of the group in the Old World tropics. We inferred that the African continent has been colonized at least twice by Asian mycalesines within the last 26 and 23 Mya. In one possible scenario, an Asian ancestor gave rise to Heteropsis on continental Africa, which later dispersed into Madagascar and most likely back colonised Asia. The second colonization of Africa by Asian ancestors resulted in Hallelesis and Bicyclus on continental Africa, the descendants of which did not colonise other regions but rather diversified only in continental Africa. The genera Lohora and Mydosama are derivatives of ancestors from continental Asia. CONCLUSION: Our proposed time-calibrated phylogeny now provides a solid framework within which we can implement mechanistic studies aimed at unravelling the ecological and evolutionary processes that culminated in the spectacular radiation of mycalesines in the Old World tropics.
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| 5. |
- Chazot, Nicolas, et al.
(författare)
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Conserved ancestral tropical niche but different continental histories explain the latitudinal diversity gradient in brush-footed butterflies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The global increase in species richness toward the tropics across continents and taxonomic groups, referred to as the latitudinal diversity gradient, stimulated the formulation of many hypotheses to explain the underlying mechanisms of this pattern. We evaluate several of these hypotheses to explain spatial diversity patterns in a butterfly family, the Nymphalidae, by assessing the contributions of speciation, extinction, and dispersal, and also the extent to which these processes differ among regions at the same latitude. We generate a time-calibrated phylogeny containing 2,866 nymphalid species (~45% of extant diversity). Neither speciation nor extinction rate variations consistently explain the latitudinal diversity gradient among regions because temporal diversification dynamics differ greatly across longitude. The Neotropical diversity results from low extinction rates, not high speciation rates, and biotic interchanges with other regions are rare. Southeast Asia is also characterized by a low speciation rate but, unlike the Neotropics, is the main source of dispersal events through time. Our results suggest that global climate change throughout the Cenozoic, combined with tropical niche conservatism, played a major role in generating the modern latitudinal diversity gradient of nymphalid butterflies.
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| 6. |
- Ma, Lijun, et al.
(författare)
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A phylogenomic tree inferred with an inexpensive PCR-generated probe kit resolves higher-level relationships among Neptis butterflies (Nymphalidae: Limenitidinae)
- 2020
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Ingår i: Systematic Entomology. - : Wiley. - 0307-6970 .- 1365-3113. ; 45:4, s. 924-934
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent advances in obtaining reduced representation libraries for next-generation sequencing permit phylogenomic analysis of species-rich, recently diverged taxa. In this study, we performed sequence capture with homemade PCR-generated probes to study diversification among closely related species in a large insect genus to examine the utility of this method. We reconstructed the phylogeny of Neptis Fabricius, a large and poorly studied nymphalid butterfly genus distributed throughout the Old World. We inferred relationships among 108 Neptis samples using 89 loci totaling up to 84 519 bp per specimen. Our taxon sample focused on Palearctic, Oriental and Australasian species, but included 8 African species and outgroups from 5 related genera. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses yielded identical trees with full support for almost all nodes. We confirmed that Neptis is not monophyletic because Lasippa heliodore (Fabricius) and Phaedyma amphion (Linnaeus) are nested within the genus, and we redefine species groups for Neptis found outside of Africa. The statistical support of our results demonstrates that the probe set we employed is useful for inferring phylogenetic relationships among Neptis species and likely has great value for intrageneric phylogenetic reconstruction of Lepidoptera. Based on our results, we revise the following two taxa: Neptis heliodore comb. rev. and Neptis amphion comb. rev.
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| 7. |
- Molleman, Freerk, et al.
(författare)
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Quantifying the effects of species traits on predation risk in nature : A comparative study of butterfly wing damage
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 89:3, s. 716-729
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Evading predators is a fundamental aspect of the ecology and evolution of all prey animals. In studying the influence of prey traits on predation risk, previous researchers have shown that crypsis reduces attack rates on resting prey, predation risk increases with increased prey activity, and rapid locomotion reduces attack rates and increases chances of surviving predator attacks. However, evidence for these conclusions is nearly always based on observations of selected species under artificial conditions. In nature, it remains unclear how defensive traits such as crypsis, activity levels and speed influence realized predation risk across species in a community. Whereas direct observations of predator–prey interactions in nature are rare, insight can be gained by quantifying bodily damage caused by failed predator attacks. We quantified how butterfly species traits affect predation risk in nature by determining how defensive traits correlate with wing damage caused by failed predation attempts, thereby providing the first robust multi-species comparative analysis of predator-induced bodily damage in wild animals. For 34 species of fruit-feeding butterflies in an African forest, we recorded wing damage and quantified crypsis, activity levels and flight speed. We then tested for correlations between damage parameters and species traits using comparative methods that account for measurement error. We detected considerable differences in the extent, location and symmetry of wing surface loss among species, with smaller differences between sexes. We found that males (but not females) of species that flew faster had substantially less wing surface loss. However, we found no correlation between cryptic coloration and symmetrical wing surface loss across species. In species in which males appeared to be more active than females, males had a lower proportion of symmetrical wing surface loss than females. Our results provide evidence that activity greatly influences the probability of attacks and that flying rapidly is effective for escaping pursuing predators in the wild, but we did not find evidence that cryptic species are less likely to be attacked while at rest.
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| 8. |
- Sahoo, Ranjit Kumar, et al.
(författare)
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Evolution of Hypolimnas butterflies (Nymphalidae) : Out-of-Africa origin and Wolbachia-mediated introgression
- 2018
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Ingår i: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903. ; 123, s. 50-58
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hypolimnas butterflies (Nymphalidae), commonly known as eggflies, are a popular model system for studying a wide range of ecological questions including mimicry, polymorphism, wing pattern evolution, and Wolbachia-host interactions. The lack of a time-calibrated phylogeny for this group has precluded understanding its evolutionary history. We reconstruct a species-level phylogeny using a nine gene dataset and estimate species divergence times. Based on the resulting tree, we investigate the taxon's historical biogeography, examine the evolution of host plant preferences, and test the hypothesis that the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia mediates gene transfer between species. Our analyses indicate that the species are grouped within three strongly supported, deeply divergent clades. However, relationships among these three clades are uncertain. In addition, many Hypolimnas species are not monophyletic or monophyletic with weak support, suggesting widespread incomplete lineage sorting and/or introgression. Biogeographic analysis strongly indicates that the genus diverged from its ancestor in Africa and subsequently dispersed to Asia; the strength of this result is not affected by topological uncertainties. While the larvae of African species feed almost exclusively on Urticaceae, larvae of species found further east often feed on several additional families. Interestingly, we found an identical mitochondrial haplotype in two Hypolimnas species, H. bolina and H. alimena, and a strong association between this mitotype and the Wolbachia strain wBol1a. Future investigations should explore the plausibility of Wolbachia-mediated introgression between species.
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| 9. |
- Warren-Gash, Haydon, et al.
(författare)
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Systematics and evolution of the African butterfly genus Mylothris (Lepidoptera, Pieridae)
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nota Lepidopterologica. - : Pensoft Publishers. - 0342-7536 .- 2367-5365. ; 43:1, s. 1-14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study the systematics and evolutionary history of the Afrotropical butterfly genus Mylothris (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) based on six gene regions (COI, EF1a, GAPDH, MDH, RpS5 and wingless). We find that the genus can be placed into five species groups, termed the jacksoni, elodina, rhodope, agathina and hilara groups. Within these species groups, we find that many species show very little genetic differentiation based on the markers we sequenced, suggesting they have undergone rapid and recent speciation. Based on secondary calibrations, we estimate the age of the crown group of Mylothris to be about 16 million years old, but that many of the species level divergences have happened in the Pleistocene. We infer that the clade has its origin in the forests of the Eastern part of Central Africa, and has spread out from there to other regions of Africa.
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