Convergent morphology and divergent phenology promote the coexistence of Morpho butterfly species

Camille Le Roy (), Camille Roux, Elisabeth Authier, Hugues Parrinello, Héloïse Bastide, Vincent Debat and Violaine Llaurens
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Camille Le Roy: Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, CP50
Camille Roux: CNRS, UMR 8198 - Evo-Eco-Paleo, Univ. Lille
Elisabeth Authier: CNRS, UMR 8198 - Evo-Eco-Paleo, Univ. Lille
Hugues Parrinello: Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM
Héloïse Bastide: CNRS, IRD, UMR Évolution, Génomes, Comportement et Écologie, Université Paris-Saclay
Vincent Debat: Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, CP50
Violaine Llaurens: Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, CP50

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The coexistence of closely-related species in sympatry is puzzling because ecological niche proximity imposes strong competition and reproductive interference. A striking example is the widespread wing pattern convergence of several blue-banded Morpho butterfly species with overlapping ranges of distribution. Here we perform a series of field experiments using flying Morpho dummies placed in a natural habitat. We show that similarity in wing colour pattern indeed leads to interspecific territoriality and courtship among sympatric species. In spite of such behavioural interference, demographic inference from genomic data shows that sympatric closely-related Morpho species are genetically isolated. Mark-recapture experiments in the two most closely-related species unravel a strong temporal segregation in patrolling activity of males. Such divergence in phenology reduces the costs of reproductive interference while simultaneously preserving the benefits of convergence in non-reproductive traits in response to common ecological pressures. Henceforth, the evolution of multiple traits may favour species diversification in sympatry by partitioning niche in different dimensions.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27549-1

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