Phylogenetic reconstruction of ancestral ecological networks through time for pierid butterflies and their host plants

Abstract

The study of herbivorous insects underpins much of the theory that concerns the evolution of species interactions. In particular, Pieridae butterflies and their host plants have served as a model system for studying evolutionary arms-races. To learn more about how the two lineages co-evolved over time, we reconstructed ecological networks and network properties using a phylogenetic model of host-repertoire evolution. In tempo and mode, host-repertoire evolution in Pieridae is slower and more conservative when compared to similar model-based estimates previously obtained for another butterfly clade, Nymphalini. Our study provides detailed insights into how host shifts, host range expansions, and recolonizations of ancestral hosts have shaped the Pieridae-angiosperm network through a phase transition from a disconnected to a connected network. Our results demonstrate the power of combining network analysis with Bayesian inference of host repertoire evolution in understanding how complex species interactions change over time.

Next-generation cophylogeny: unravelling eco-evolutionary processes

“…Furthermore, in taxa that permit it, sequencing ancestral and extant lineages within a species over time could reveal the impact of host associations on the evolutionary rate, diversification, and the genomic bases of interactions [42]. Alternatively, one could model the evolution of the host repertoire of a symbiont group [51]. Therefore, incorporating Box…”

The ghost of hosts past: impacts of host extinction on parasite specificity

“…Predictions of unobserved host-parasite associations are often based on an assumption that present-day associations accurately reflect potential host ranges [31,35,36]. However, host range is a dynamic property of parasites that evolves through cospeciation, host shifts, and the gains and losses of hosts over varying timescales [37][38][39][40][41]. Changes in parasite host specificity as a result of host-switching and shifting geographic ranges have attracted considerable attention by researchers [42][43][44][45][46][47], whereas extinction history has tended to be overlooked.…”

The role of phylogeny and ecological opportunity in host-parasite interactions: network metrics, host repertoire, and network link prediction.

“…Few recent studies on the Stockholm paradigm have integrated network analyses (but see D'Bastiani et al 2020;Braga et al 2021). Instead, the focus has remained on inferring ancestral host-parasite interactions (Braga et al 2020(Braga et al , 2021 rather than predicting undetected links.…”

“…Few recent studies on the Stockholm paradigm have integrated network analyses (but see D'Bastiani et al 2020;Braga et al 2021). Instead, the focus has remained on inferring ancestral host-parasite interactions (Braga et al 2020(Braga et al , 2021 rather than predicting undetected links. The distinction between undetected and unrealised links remains a major hurdle for network studies as observed interactions will often present an underestimation of the real interaction diversity (Fu et al 2019).…”

“…The distinction between undetected and unrealised links remains a major hurdle for network studies as observed interactions will often present an underestimation of the real interaction diversity (Fu et al 2019). Furthermore, previous studies (Braga et al 2020(Braga et al , 2021 treated interactions as discrete states, e.g. as non-hosts, potential hosts, and real hosts, despite the literature on network analyses substantiating that some host-parasite interactions are more prevalent than others (Blüthgenet al 2008;Poulin et al 2011).…”