Full text in pdf format

The genetic structure of Heliconius erato populations (Lepdoptera; Nymphalidae)

Luiz Mauricio-da-Silvar^I; Aldo Mellender de Araújo^II

^IDepartamento de Genética, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, UFPE, Caixa Postal 7818, 50721-970 Recife, PE, Brasil
^IIDepartamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, UFRGS, Caixa Postal 15053, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. Send correspondence to A.M.A.

ABSTRACT

Samples of butterflies (Heliconius erato, Nymphalidae) were drawn from five different localities in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). to study allozyme polymorphisms and genetic structure. Four loci were investigated, Pgm, Lap, Mdhl and Mdh2 (the latter being monomorphic). The five localities, which were less than 30 km apart, showed a high genotypic similarity, ranging from 0.86 to 0.95. However, they also showed a significant isolation component when considered as part of a larger population (F_ST = 0.0247; P < 0.001). When they were taken as forming only two subdivisions of a larger population, F_ST was even greater, 0.0798 (P < 0.001). The component due to inbreeding (F_IS) was also significant in both cases, being respectively 0.1859 (P < 0.05) and 0.2153 (P < 0.001). These results confirm the island nature of H. erato populations previously suggested on the basis of ecological information. The high levels of inbreeding could be associated with certain behavioural traits shown by these insects.

Keywords: genetic structure; Heliconius erato.

REFERENCES

Bailey, N. (1974). Statistical Methods in Biology. The English Universities Press, London, pp. 200.

Benson, W.W. (1971). Evidence for the evolution of unpalatability through kin selection in the Heliconiinae (Lepidoptera). The Amer. Natur. 105: 213-226.

Brewer, G.J. and Sing, C.F. (1970). An Introduction to Isozyme Techniques. cademic Press, Inc., New York, pp. 186.

Brown Jr., K.S. (1981). The biology of Heliconius and related genera. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 26: 427-456.

Di Mare, R.A. and Araújo, A.M. (1986). A first survey of inbreeding effects in Heliconius erato phyllis (Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae). Rev. Brasil. Genet. 9: 11-20.

Gilbert, L.E. (1975). Ecological consequences of a coevolved mutualism between butterflies and plants. In: Coevolution of Animals and Plants (Gilbert, L.E. and Raven, P.H., eds.). The Univ. Texas Press, Austin, pp. 210-240.

Harris, H. and Hopkinson, D.A. (1976). Handbook of Enzyme Electrophoresis in Human Genetics. North Holland, Amsterdam.

Hedrick, P.W. (1971). A new approach to measuring genetic similarity. Evolution 25: 276-280.

Li, C.C. and Horvitz, D.G. (1953). Some methods of estimating the inbreeding coefficient. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 5: 107-117.

Lima, F.A. and Araújo, A.M. (1982). Studies on the genetics and ecology of Heliconius erato (Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae). II. Inheritance of esterases and genotypic distribution in a natural population. Rev. Brasil. Genet. 5: 679-686.

Mallet, J.L.B. (1984). Population structure and evolution in Heliconius butterflies. Doctoral Thesis, Univ. Texas, Austin.

Oliveira, D.L. and Araújo, A.M. (1992). Studies on the genetics and ecology of Heliconius erato (Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae). 1V. Effective size and variability of the red raylets in a natural population. Rev. Brasil. Genet. 15: 789-799.

Pansera, M.C.G. and Araújo, A.M. (1983). Distribution and heritability of the red raylets in Heliconius erato phyllis (Lepid.; Nymph.). Heredity 51: 643-652.

Saalfeld, K. and Araújo, A.M. (1981). Studies on the genetics and ecology of Heliconius erato (Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae). I. Demography of a natural population. Rev. Bras. Biol. 41: 855-860.

Shields, W.S. and Heeler, R.M. (1979). Analysis of contingency tables with sparse values. Journal of Marketing Research 16: 382-386.

Turner, J.R.G. (1981). Adaptation and evolution in Heliconius: a defense of neodarwinism. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 12: 99-121.

Turner, J.R.G., Johnson, M.S. and Eanes, W.S. (1979). Contrasted modes of evolution in the same genome: allozymes and adaptive change in Heliconius. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 76: 1924-1928.

Weir, B. (1990). Genetic Data Analysis. Sinauer Associates, Massachusetts, pp. 377.

Weir, B. and Cockerham, C.C. (1984). Estimating F-Statistics for the analysis of population structure. Evolution 38: 1358-1370.

Workman, P.L. and Niswander, J.D. (1970). Population studies on southwestern Indian tribes. II. Local genetic differentiation in the Papago. Amer. J. Hum. Gen. 22: 24-29.

Wright, S. (1969). Evolution and Genetics of Populations. Vol. 2. The Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 511.