Impacts of larval host plant species on dispersal traits and free-flight energetics of adult butterflies

Animals derive resources from their diet and allocate them to organismal functions such as growth, maintenance, reproduction, and dispersal. How variation in diet quality can affect resource allocation to life-history traits, in particular those important to locomotion and dispersal, is poorly under...

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Published inCommunications biology Vol. 5; no. 1; p. 469
Main Authors Pocius, Victoria M, Cibotti, Staci, Ray, Swayamjit, Ankoma-Darko, Obenewa, McCartney, Nathaniel B, Schilder, Rudolf J, Ali, Jared G
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Nature Publishing Group 16.05.2022
Nature Publishing Group UK
Nature Portfolio
Subjects
Animals
Asclepias
Biology
Butterflies & moths
Butterflies - physiology
Cardenolides
Diet
Dispersal
Flight muscle
Flowers & plants
Herbivores
Herbivory
Host plants
Larva
Larvae
Life history
Locomotion
Population decline
Resource allocation
Species
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Summary:Animals derive resources from their diet and allocate them to organismal functions such as growth, maintenance, reproduction, and dispersal. How variation in diet quality can affect resource allocation to life-history traits, in particular those important to locomotion and dispersal, is poorly understood. We hypothesize that, particularly for specialist herbivore insects that are in co-evolutionary arms races with host plants, changes in host plant will impact performance. From their coevolutionary arms-race with plants, to a complex migratory life history, Monarch butterflies are among the most iconic insect species worldwide. Population declines initiated international conservation efforts involving the replanting of a variety of milkweed species. However, this practice was implemented with little regard for how diverse defensive chemistry of milkweeds experienced by monarch larvae may affect adult fitness traits. We report that adult flight muscle investment, flight energetics, and maintenance costs depend on the host plant species of larvae, and correlate with concentration of milkweed-derived cardenolides sequestered by adults. Our findings indicate host plant species can impact monarchs by affecting fuel requirements for flight.
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ISSN:2399-3642
2399-3642
DOI:10.1038/s42003-022-03396-8