Polymorphic growth in larvae of Maculinea butterflies, as an example of biennialism in myrmecophilous insects

Witek, Magdalena; Śliwińska, Ewa B.; Skórka, Piotr; Nowicki, Piotr; Settele, Josef; Woyciechowski, Michał

doi:10.1007/s00442-006-0404-5

Cited by 54 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Such a relatively large number of host switches, together with observations that individual populations are typically highly species-specific with respect to ant association, suggest that cuckoos may be undergoing rapid ecological divergence (Elmes et al 1994;Meyer-Hozak 2000;Als et al 2001Als et al , 2004Steiner et al 2003;Witek et al 2006).…”

Section: The Case Of Maculinea Butterfliesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Evolutionarily Significant Unit” concept and its applicability in biological conservation

Casacci

Barbero

Balletto

2013

Italian Journal of Zoology

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Although most conservationists claim to protect "species", the conservation unit actually and practically managed is the individual population. As resources are not unlimited, we need to focus on a restricted number of populations. But how can we select them? The Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU), first conceptualised by Ryder in 1986, may offer some answer. Several definitions have been proposed for the ESU, but all make reference to units "whose divergence can be measured or evaluated by putting differential emphasis on the role of evolutionary forces at varied temporal scales". Thus, an ESU might be fully identical with a "species", or a "species" could be composed of multiple ESUs. On the other hand, an ESU might comprise single/multiple populations exchanging a degree of gene flow, such as meta-populations. In an attempt to show strengths and weaknesses of ESU concepts, we present here, among several others, some case studies on the myrmecophilous butterflies of the genus Maculinea. In particular, we analyse the apparently everlasting debate about Maculinea alcon and M. rebeli, whose separation into separate species has been accepted by many authors, on mainly ecological criteria, but has not been fully supported by molecular analyses. We also discuss how the tight association with host ants may have driven selection for increasingly more strictly adapted Maculinea populations, arguably deserving specific taxonomic identity. Finally we discuss how current DNA analyses may fail to detect critical information on differences between taxa recently originated by the action of separate adaptive processes, which non-molecular studies can sometimes reveal. We conclude by discussing some current and often conflicting taxonomic trends, in their relationships with conservation policies.

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Section: The Case Of Maculinea Butterfliesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Evolutionarily Significant Unit” concept and its applicability in biological conservation

Casacci

Barbero

Balletto

2013

Italian Journal of Zoology

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“…There have been a few studies addressing dramatic examples of this variation. In the myrmecophilous butterfly, Maculinea spp., about 25 % of individuals from a cohort develop in one year and the rest in two years (Thomas et al, 1998;Schönrogge et al, 2000;Nowicki et al, 2005;Witek et al, 2006) with the former known as the annual morph, the latter as the biennial morph and the phenomenon as growth rate polymorphism. Similar incidences of growth rate polymorphism have also been reported in predaceous syrphid, Microdon mutabilis (Schönrogge et al, 2000) and salmonid fish (Gross, 1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slow and fast development in ladybirds: occurrence, effects and significance

Mishra

Omkar²

2012

Web Ecol.

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Abstract. Developmental and growth rates are known to vary in response to genetic, developmental, physiological and environmental factors. However, developmental variations that exist within a cohort under any constant rearing condition are not so well investigated. A few such prominent polymorphisms have been studied, but not the subtle ones. The current study investigates the presence of such varying rates of development, slow and fast, in a cohort reared under constant conditions in two ladybirds, Cheilomenes sexmaculata and Propylea dissecta. Our results reveal slow and fast developers in the cohorts of each species and the ratio of slow and fast developers was similar. Slow developers showed a female biased sex ratio. The two developmental variants differed significantly in juvenile duration only in the first instar and the pupal stage, though variations in developmental time were observed in all stages. Fecundity was higher in slow developers, but developmental rates did not affect egg viability. The similar ratio in both ladybirds indicates it to be a result of either presence of a constant ratio across species or an effect of the similar rearing environment.

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“…nausithous does (Thomas and Patricelli et al, 2010). From adoption till pupation Maculinea larvae spend 11 or 23 months inside Myrmica colonies Schönrogge et al, 2000;Witek et al, 2006).…”

Section: Arnaldomentioning

confidence: 99%

Myrmica ants host highly diverse parasitic communities: from social parasites to microbes

2014

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Myrmica ants have been model species for studies in a variety of disciplines, including insect physiology, chemical communication, ant social dynamics, ant population, community ecology, and ant interactions with other organisms. Species belonging to the genus Myrmica can be found in virtually every habitat within the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere and their biology and systematics have been thoroughly studied. These ants serve as hosts to highly diverse parasitic organisms from socially parasitic butterfly caterpillars to microbes, and many Myrmica species even evolved into parasitizing species of their own genus. These parasites have various impacts both on the individuals and on the social structure of their hosts, ranging from morphological malformations to reduction in colony fitness. A comprehensive review of the parasitic organisms supported by Myrmica and the effects of these organisms on individuals and on whole ant colonies has not yet been compiled. Here, we provide a review of the interactions of these organisms with Myrmica ants by discussing host and parasite functional, behavioral or physiological adaptations. In addition, for all "symbiont groups" of Myrmica ants described in this paper, we examine the present limitations of the knowledge at present of their impact on individuals and host colony fitness. In conclusion, we argue that Myrmica ants serve as remarkable resource for the evolution of a wide variety of associated organisms.

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Polymorphic growth in larvae of Maculinea butterflies, as an example of biennialism in myrmecophilous insects

Cited by 54 publications

References 16 publications

The “Evolutionarily Significant Unit” concept and its applicability in biological conservation

The “Evolutionarily Significant Unit” concept and its applicability in biological conservation

Slow and fast development in ladybirds: occurrence, effects and significance

Myrmica ants host highly diverse parasitic communities: from social parasites to microbes

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