Sexually dimorphic behaviour is pervasive across animals, with males and females exhibiting different mate selection, parental care, foraging, dispersal, and territorial strategies. However, the genetic underpinnings of sexually dimorphic behaviours are poorly understood. Here we investigate gene networks and expression patterns associated with sexually dimorphic imprinting‐like learning in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. In this species, both males and females learn visual preferences, but learn preferences for different traits and use different signals as salient, unconditioned cues. To identify genes and gene networks associated with this behaviour, we examined gene expression profiles of the brains and eyes of male and female butterflies immediately post training and compared them to the same tissues of naïve individuals. We found more differentially expressed genes and a greater number of associated gene networks in the eyes, indicating a role of the peripheral nervous system in visual imprinting‐like learning. Females had higher chemoreceptor expression levels than males, supporting the hypothesized sexual dimorphic use of chemical cues during the learning process. In addition, genes that influence B. anynana wing patterns (sexual ornaments), such as invected, spalt, and apterous, were also differentially expressed in the brain and eye, suggesting that these genes may influence both sexual ornaments and the preferences for these ornaments. Our results indicate dynamic and sex‐specific responses to social scenario in both the peripheral and central nervous systems and highlight the potential role of wing patterning genes in mate preference and learning across the Lepidoptera.
Community science, which engages students and the public in data collection and scientific inquiry, is often integrated into conservation and long-term monitoring efforts. However, it has the potential to also introduce the public to, and be useful for, sensory ecology and other fields of study. Here we describe a community science project that exposes participants to animal behavior and sensory ecology using the rich butterfly community of Northwest Arkansas, USA. Butterflies use visual signals to communicate and to attract mates. Brighter colors can produce stronger signals for mate attraction but can also unintentionally attract negative attention from predators. Environmental conditions such as weather can affect visual signaling as well, by influencing the wavelengths of light available and subsequent signal detection. However, we do not know whether the signals butterflies present correlate broadly with how they behave. In this study, we collaborated with hundreds of students and community members at the University of Arkansas (UARK) and the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks (BGO) for over 3.5 years to examine relationships among wing pattern, weather, time of day, behavior, and flower choice. We found that both weather and wing color influenced general butterfly behavior. Butterflies were seen feeding more on cloudy days than on sunny or partly cloudy days. Brown butterflies fed or sat more often, while white butterflies flew more often relative to other butterfly colors. We also found that there was an interaction between the effects of weather and wing color on butterfly behavior. Furthermore, butterfly color predicted the choice of flower colors that butterflies visited, though this effect was influenced by observer group (UARK student or BGO participant). These results suggest that flower choice may be associated with butterfly wing pattern, and that different environmental conditions may influence butterfly behavior in wing-pattern-specific ways. They also illustrate one way that public involvement in behavioral studies can facilitate the identification of coarse-scale, community-wide behavioral patterns, and lay the groundwork for future studies of sensory niches.
Sexually dimorphic behavior is pervasive across animals, with males and females exhibiting different mate selection, parental care, foraging, dispersal, and territorial strategies. However, the genetic underpinnings of sexually dimorphic behaviors are poorly understood. Here we investigate gene networks and expression patterns associated with sexually dimorphic imprinting-like learning in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. In this species, both males and females learn visual preferences, but learn preferences for different traits and use different signals as salient, unconditioned cues. To identify genes and gene networks associated with this behavior, we examined gene expression profiles of the brains and eyes of male and female butterflies immediately post training and compared them to the same tissues of naive individuals. We found more differentially expressed genes and a greater number of significant gene networks in the eye, indicating a role of the peripheral nervous system in visual imprinting-like learning. Females had higher chemoreceptor expression levels than males, supporting the hypothesized sexual dimorphic use of chemical cues during the learning process. In addition, genes that influence B. anynana wing patterns (sexual ornaments), such as invected, spalt, and apterous, were also differentially expressed in the brain and eye, suggesting that these genes may influence both sexual ornaments and the preferences for these ornaments. Our results indicate dynamic and sex-specific responses to social scenario in both the peripheral and central nervous systems and highlight the potential role of wing patterning genes in mate preference and learning across the Lepidoptera.
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