Biology subjects

Paez, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Paez, E..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Phylogeny, systematics and evolution of mimicry patterns in Neotropical limenitidine butterflies

The Neotropical butterfly genus Adelpha Hubner exhibits remarkable species diversity and striking convergence in wing colour patterns potentially explained by mimicry, making it an exceptional model for exploring trait evolution and its relationship with speciation. To date, unresolved phylogenetic relationships hinder a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary biology of the genus. Using a novel multi-marker dataset combining one mitochondrial and 15 nuclear gene fragments, we generate the most comprehensive phylogeny of the genus Adelpha to revisit its systematics and investigate the evolution of mimicry colour patterns. Our data set encompasses 83 of the 87 known extant species and six Limenitis species that were recently excluded from Adelpha (134 of c. 160 subspecies in total), collectively displaying 14 distinct mimicry patterns. We provide conclusive evidence that corroborates previous work on the polyphyly of Adelpha as historically conceived, and describe the genus Adelphina Paez & Willmott n. gen. to stabilize the nomenclature, both genera representing Neotropical limenitidines. The comprehensive phylogeny provided in this study lays a solid foundation for future research into the processes driving diversification within these species interacting through mimicry. Ancestral character state reconstruction reveals gradual evolution of mimicry pattern. The more common mimicry pattern IPHICLUS (forewing with orange subapical spot and white band) is inferred as ancestral, but repeated convergent evolution is also recovered. Evolutionary convergence is also observed for the second most abundant mimicry pattern, COCALA (orange-white banded). Increased rates of mimicry pattern evolution are also found toward the equator. These results underscore the complexity of mimicry evolution in the Neotropical limenitidines i.e., Adelpha and Adelphina, emphasizing the need to explore its interplay with other biotic and abiotic factors.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus infections in pinnipeds and seabirds in Uruguay: a paradigm shift to virus transmission in South America

The highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses of the clade 2.3.4.4b have caused unprecedented deaths in South American wild birds, poultry, and marine mammals. In September 2023, pinnipeds and seabirds appeared dead on the Uruguayan Atlantic coast. Sixteen influenza virus strains were characterized by real-time reverse transcription PCR and genome sequencing in samples from sea lions (Otaria flavescens), fur seals (Arctocephalus australis), and terns (Sterna hirundinacea). Phylogenetic and ancestral reconstruction analysis showed that these strains have pinnipeds as the most likely ancestral host, representing a recent introduction of the clade 2.3.4.4b in Uruguay. The Uruguayan and closely related strains from Peru (sea lions) and Chile (sea lions and a human case) carry mammalian adaptative residues 591K and 701N in the viral polymerase basic protein 2 (PB2). Our findings suggest that the clade 2.3.4.4b strains in South America may have spread from mammals to mammals and seabirds, revealing a new transmission route.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Hard to catch: Experimental evidence supports evasive mimicry

Most research on aposematism has focused on chemically defended prey, but signalling difficulty of capture remains poorly explored. Similarly to classical Batesian and Mullerian mimicry related to distastefulness, such "evasive aposematism" may also lead to convergence in warning colours, known as evasive mimicry. A prime candidate group for evasive mimicry are Adelpha butterflies, which are agile insects and show remarkable colour pattern convergence. We tested the ability of naive blue tits to learn to avoid and generalise Adelpha wing patterns associated with difficulty of capture, and compared their response to that of birds that learned to associate the same wing patterns with distastefulness. Birds learned to avoid all wing patterns tested, but learning was faster with evasive prey compared with distasteful prey. Birds generalised their learned avoidance from evasive models to imperfect mimics if the mimic shared colours with the model. Despite imperfect mimics gaining protection from birds generalisation, perfect mimics always had the best fitness, supporting selection for accurate mimicry. Faster avoidance learning and broader generalisation of evasive prey suggest that being hard to catch may deter predators at least as effectively as distastefulness. Our results provide empirical evidence for a potentially widespread alternative scenario, evasive mimicry, for the evolution of similar aposematic colour patterns.

evolutionary biology↗