Climate is a strong predictor of near-infrared reflectance but a poor predictor of colour in butterflies

Munro, Joshua T; Medina, Iliana; Walker, Ken; Moussalli, Adnan; Kearney, Michael R.; Dyer, Adrian G.; Garcia, Jair E.; Rankin, Katrina J.; Stuart‐Fox, Devi

doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.0234

Cited by 30 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(88 reference statements)

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“…The role of periodic microstructures interacting with visible to near-infrared (near-IR) wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation leading to structural coloration has been studied extensively (20,(26)(27)(28)(29). The interaction with visible to near-IR radiation also plays an important role in the heating of butterfly wings and bodies (18,20,(30)(31)(32)(33)(34). Butterflies heat up their wings by absorbing the heat from the sun, in the ultraviolet (UV) to near-IR wavelengths of 0.3 to 2.5 μm.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In order to evaluate the heating of butterfly wings and quantify the absorption of solar radiation, Munro et al (32) analyzed the optical behavior of butterfly wings up to a wavelength of 1.1 μm, encompassing roughly 83% of the incoming solar spectrum. Analyzing the optical properties over the entire solar spectrum up to 2.5-μm wavelength could provide a fuller understanding of the heating of the butterfly wings, as has been suggested by Bosi et al (33).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Infrared optical and thermal properties of microstructures in butterfly wings

Krishna

Nie

Warren

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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While surface microstructures of butterfly wings have been extensively studied for their structural coloration or optical properties within the visible spectrum, their properties in infrared wavelengths with potential ties to thermoregulation are relatively unknown. The midinfrared wavelengths of 7.5 to 14 µm are particularly important for radiative heat transfer in the ambient environment, because of the overlap with the atmospheric transmission window. For instance, a high midinfrared emissivity can facilitate surface cooling, whereas a low midinfrared emissivity can minimize heat loss to surroundings. Here we find that the midinfrared emissivity of butterfly wings from warmer climates such as Archaeoprepona demophoon (Oaxaca, Mexico) and Heliconius sara (Pichincha, Ecuador) is up to 2 times higher than that of butterfly wings from cooler climates such as Celastrina echo (Colorado) and Limenitis arthemis (Florida), using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and infrared thermography. Our optical computations using a unit cell approach reproduce the spectroscopy data and explain how periodic microstructures play a critical role in the midinfrared. The emissivity spectrum governs the temperature of butterfly wings, and we demonstrate that C. echo wings heat up to 8 °C more than A. demophoon wings under the same sunlight in the clear sky of Irvine, CA. Furthermore, our thermal computations show that butterfly wings in their respective habitats can maintain a moderate temperature range through a balance of solar absorption and infrared emission. These findings suggest that the surface microstructures of butterfly wings potentially contribute to thermoregulation and provide an insight into butterflies' survival.

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confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Infrared optical and thermal properties of microstructures in butterfly wings

Krishna

Nie

Warren

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…It is well established that animal coloration influences and is associated with heating rates, equilibrium body temperatures, preferred temperatures, activity periods, microhabitat utilization, climate niche breadth and overall organismal performance, particularly in ectotherms (Watt , Kingsolver and Wiernasz , Huey and Kingsolver , Forsman , , Forsman et al , Ahnesjö and Forsman , Takahashi and Noriyuki ). There are also recent reports of spatial and temporal shifts in overall darkness or heat tolerance of lepidopteran communities associated with environmental variation and change (Zeuss et al , Heidrich et al , Merckx and Van Dyck , Munro et al , Stelbrink et al ). Given that individuals that differ in coloration also differ in thermal biology and physiology (Forsman et al , Ahnesjö and Forsman ), it is not surprising that species and populations with variable colour patterns also have broader thermal niches (Takahashi and Noriyuki ), and high ability to cope with heterogeneity and change (Forsman ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variable colour patterns indicate multidimensional, intraspecific trait variation and ecological generalization in moths

et al. 2020

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Animal colour patterns long have provided information about key processes that drive the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of biological diversity. Theory and empirical evidence indicate that variation in colour patterns and other traits among individuals generally improves the performance of populations and species, for example by reducing predation risk, increasing establishment success, improving resilience to environmental change, and decreasing risk of extinction. However, little is known about whether and how variation in colour pattern among species is associated with variation in other phenotypic dimensions. To address this issue, we analysed associations of colour pattern with morphological, behavioural and life‐history traits on the basis of data for nearly 400 species of noctuid moths. We found that moths with more variable colour patterns had longer flight activity periods, more diverse habitats and a greater number of host plant species than species with less variable colour patterns. Variable coloration in adult noctuid moths therefore can be considered as indicative of broader niches and generalist diets. Colour pattern variability was not significantly associated with overwintering stage or body size (wing span), and it was independent of whether the colour pattern of the larvae was non‐variable, variable or highly variable. Colour pattern variation during the larval stage tended to increase as the duration of the flight activity period increased, but was independent of the length of the larval period, diet breadth and habitat use. The realization that information on colour pattern variation in adult moths, and possibly other organisms, offers a proxy for niche breadth and dietary generalization can inform management and conservation biology.

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“…To test the impact of using online photographs, we compared the color distances obtained with online photographs with the distances calculated in a subsample of species for which we had both online photo measurements and standardized photographs for multiple individuals from museum specimens (from Munro et al. ). We found a highly significant association between color distances calculated with both types of photographs (detailed in Supporting Material; Figs.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) and a recent phylogenetic analysis of Australian butterflies (Munro et al. (), 2500 trees from the posterior probability distribution, details in Supporting Material, N = 98 spp.). For each species, we selected the two primary colors (categories 1 and 2) and each color had three associated values (R, G, B).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From cryptic to colorful: Evolutionary decoupling of larval and adult color in butterflies

et al. 2020

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Many animals undergo complete metamorphosis, where larval forms change abruptly in adulthood. Color change during ontogeny is common, but there is little understanding of evolutionary patterns in these changes. Here, we use data on larval and adult color for 246 butterfly species (61% of all species in Australia) to test whether the evolution of color is coupled between life stages. We show that adults are more variable in color across species than caterpillars and that male adult color has lower phylogenetic signal.These results suggest that sexual selection is driving color diversity in male adult butterflies at a broad scale. Moreover, color similarities between species at the larval stage do not predict color similarities at the adult stage, indicating that color evolution is decoupled between young and adult forms. Most species transition from cryptic coloration as caterpillars to conspicuous coloration as adults, but even species with conspicuous caterpillars change to different conspicuous colors as adults. The use of high-contrast coloration is correlated with body size in caterpillars but not adults. Taken together, our results suggest a change in the relative importance of different selective pressures at different life stages, resulting in the evolutionary decoupling of coloration through ontogeny.

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Climate is a strong predictor of near-infrared reflectance but a poor predictor of colour in butterflies

Cited by 30 publications

References 79 publications

Infrared optical and thermal properties of microstructures in butterfly wings

Infrared optical and thermal properties of microstructures in butterfly wings

Variable colour patterns indicate multidimensional, intraspecific trait variation and ecological generalization in moths

From cryptic to colorful: Evolutionary decoupling of larval and adult color in butterflies

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