Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
2,390
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.7.1
Dataset results
2,390 results for “butterflies”
Data from: Immediate impact of a hurricane on the structure of a tropical butterfly community
More intense and frequent hurricanes may lead to long-lasting effects to tropical ecosystems. Here we describe the immediate impact on the butterfly community of a lowland forest in Belize, following Hurricane Earl. Species richness and abundance increased post-hurricane, likely driven by convergence of the organisation between the canopy and understory communities.
Data from: Transcriptome analysis reveals novel patterning and pigmentation genes underlying Heliconius butterfly wing pattern variation
BACKGROUND: Heliconius butterfly wing pattern diversity offers a unique opportunity to investigate how natural genetic variation can drive the evolution of complex adaptive phenotypes. Positional cloning and candidate gene studies have identified a handful of regulatory and pigmentation genes implicated in Heliconius wing pattern variation, but little is known about the greater developmental networks within which these genes interact to pattern a wing. Here we took a large-scale transcriptomic approach to identify the network of genes involved in Heliconius wing pattern development and variation. This included applying over 140 transcriptome microarrays to assay gene expression in dissected wing pattern elements across a range of developmental stages and wing pattern morphs of Heliconius erato. RESULTS: We identified a number of putative early prepattern genes with color-pattern related expression domains. We also identified 51 genes differentially expressed in association with natural color pattern variation. Of these, the previously identified color pattern "switch gene" optix was recovered as the first transcript to show color-specific differential expression. Most differentially expressed genes were transcribed late in pupal development and have roles in cuticle formation or pigment synthesis. These include previously undescribed transporter genes associated with ommochrome pigmentation. Furthermore, we observed upregulation of melanin-repressing genes such as ebony and Dat1 in non-melanic patterns. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies many new genes implicated in butterfly wing pattern development and provides a glimpse into the number and types of genes affected by variation in genes that drive color pattern evolution.
Data from: Allopatric origin of cryptic butterfly species that were discovered feeding on distinct host plants in sympatry
Surveys of tropical insects are increasingly uncovering cryptic species - morphologically similar yet reproductively isolated taxa once thought to comprise a single interbreeding entity. The vast majority of such species are described from a single location. This leaves us with little information on geographic range and intraspecific variation and limits our ability to infer the forces responsible for generating such diversity. For example, in herbivorous and parasitic insects, multiple specialists are often discovered within what were thought to be single more generalized species. Host shifts are likely to have contributed to speciation in these cases. But when and where did those shifts occur, and were they facilitated by geographic isolation? We attempted to answer these questions for two cryptic species within the butterfly Cymothoe egesta that were recently discovered on different host plants in central Cameroon. We first used mtDNA markers to separate individuals collected on the two hosts within Cameroon and then extended our analysis to incorporate individuals collected across the entire pan-Afrotropical range of the original taxon. To our surprise, we found that the species are almost entirely allopatric, dividing the original range and overlapping only in the narrow zone of West-Central Africa where they were first discovered in sympatry. This finding, combined with analyses of genetic variation within each butterfly species, strongly suggests that speciation occurred in allopatry, probably during the Pleistocene. We discuss the implications of our results for understanding speciation among other cryptic species recently discovered in the tropics and argue that more work is needed on geographic patterns and host usage in such taxa.
Data from: High-arctic butterflies become smaller with rising temperatures
The response of body size to increasing temperature constitutes a universal response to climate change that could strongly affect terrestrial ectotherms, but the magnitude and direction of such responses remain unknown in most species. The metabolic cost of increased temperature could reduce body size but long growing seasons could also increase body size as was recently shown in an Arctic spider species. Here, we present the longest known time series on body size variation in two High-Arctic butterfly species: Boloria chariclea and Colias hecla. We measured wing length of nearly 4500 individuals collected annually between 1996 and 2013 from Zackenberg, Greenland and found that wing length significantly decreased at a similar rate in both species in response to warmer summers. Body size is strongly related to dispersal capacity and fecundity and our results suggest that these Arctic species could face severe challenges in response to ongoing rapid climate change.
Data from: Inferring dispersal across a fragmented landscape using reconstructed families in the Glanville fritillary butterfly
Dispersal is important for determining both a species ecological processes, such as population viability, and its evolutionary processes, like gene flow and local adaptation. Yet obtaining accurate estimates in the wild through direct observation can be challenging or even impossible, particularly over large spatial and temporal scales. Genotyping many individuals from wild populations can provide detailed inferences about dispersal. We therefore utilized genomewide marker data to estimate dispersal in the classic metapopulation of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia L.), in the Åland Islands in SW Finland. This is an ideal system to test the effectiveness of this approach due to the wealth of information already available covering dispersal across small spatial and temporal scales, but lack of information at larger spatial and temporal scales. We sampled three larvae per larval family group from 3,732 groups over a six-year period and genotyped for 272 SNPs across the genome. We used this empirical dataset to reconstruct cases where full-sibs were detected in different local populations to infer female effective dispersal distance, i.e. dispersal events directly contributing to gene flow. On average this was one kilometer, closely matching previous dispersal estimates made using direct observation. To evaluate our power to detect full-sib families we performed forward simulations using an individual-based model constructed and parameterized for the Glanville fritillary metapopulation. Using these simulations 100% of predicted full-sibs were correct and over 98% of all true full-sib pairs were detected. We therefore demonstrate that even in a highly dynamic system with a relatively small number of markers, we can accurately reconstruct full-sib families and for the first time make inferences on female effective dispersal. This highlights the utility of this approach in systems where it has previously been impossible to obtain accurate estimates of dispersal over both ecological and evolutionary scales.
Data from: EB Ford revisited: assessing the long-term stability of wing-spot patterns and population genetic structure of the meadow brown butterfly on the Isles of Scilly
Understanding selection in the wild remains a major aim of evolutionary ecology and work by Ford and colleagues on the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina did much to ignite this agenda. A great deal of their work was conducted during the 1950s on the Isles of Scilly. They documented island-specific wing-spot patterns that remained consistent over about a decade, but patterns on some islands changed after environmental perturbation. It was suggested that these wing-spot patterns reflected island-specific selection and that there was little migration between islands. However, genetic studies to test the underlying assumption of restricted migration are lacking and it is also unknown whether the originally described wing-spot patterns have persisted over time. We therefore collected female butterflies from five of Ford's original study locations, including three large islands (St Mary's, St Martin's and Tresco) and two small islands (Tean and St Helen's). Wing-spot patterns had not changed appreciably over time on three of the islands (two large and one small), but were significantly different on the other two. Furthermore, analysis of 176 amplified fragment length polymorphisms revealed significant genome-wide differentiation among the five islands. Our findings are consistent with Ford's conclusions that despite the close proximity of these islands, there is restricted gene flow among them.
Data from: Climate is a strong predictor of near-infrared reflectance but a poor predictor of colour in butterflies
Colour variation across climatic gradients is a common ecogeographical pattern; yet there is long-standing contention over underlying causes, particularly selection for thermal benefits. We tested the evolutionary association between climate gradients and reflectance of near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths, which influence heat gain but are not visible to animals. We measured ultraviolet, visible and NIR reflectance from calibrated images of 372 butterfly specimens from 60 populations (49 species, 5 families) spanning the Australian continent. Consistent with selection for thermal benefits, the association between climate and reflectance was stronger (slope and effect size) for NIR than UVA-visible wavelengths. Furthermore, climate predicted reflectance of the thorax and basal wing, which are critical to thermoregulation; but did not predict reflectance of the entire wing, which has a variable role in thermoregulation depending on basking behaviour. These results provide evidence that selection for thermal benefits has shaped the reflectance properties of butterflies.
Data from: Major improvements to the Heliconius melpomene genome assembly used to confirm 10 chromosome fusion events in 6 million years of butterfly evolution
The Heliconius butterflies are a widely studied adaptive radiation of 46 species spread across Central and South America, several of which are known to hybridize in the wild. Here, we present a substantially improved assembly of the Heliconius melpomene genome, developed using novel methods that should be applicable to improving other genome assemblies produced using short read sequencing. First, we whole-genome-sequenced a pedigree to produce a linkage map incorporating 99% of the genome. Second, we incorporated haplotype scaffolds extensively to produce a more complete haploid version of the draft genome. Third, we incorporated ∼20x coverage of Pacific Biosciences sequencing, and scaffolded the haploid genome using an assembly of this long-read sequence. These improvements result in a genome of 795 scaffolds, 275 Mb in length, with an N50 length of 2.1 Mb, an N50 number of 34, and with 99% of the genome placed, and 84% anchored on chromosomes. We use the new genome assembly to confirm that the Heliconius genome underwent 10 chromosome fusions since the split with its sister genus Eueides, over a period of about 6 million yr.
Data from: Diapause induction and relaxed selection on alternative developmental pathways in a butterfly
1. Seasonal phenotypic plasticity entails differential trait expression depending on the time of season. The facultative induction of winter diapause in temperate insects is a developmental switch mechanism often leading to differential expression in life history traits. However, when there is a latitudinal shift from a bivoltine to univoltine life cycle, selection for pathway-specific expression is disrupted, which may allow drift towards less optimal trait values within the non-selected pathway. 2. We use field- and experimental data from five Swedish populations of Pararge aegeria to investigate latitudinal variation in voltinism, local adaptation in the diapause switch, and footprints of selection on pathway-specific regulation of life history traits and sexual dimorphism in larval development. 3. Field data clearly illustrated how natural populations gradually shift from bivoltinism to univoltinism as latitude increases. This was supported experimentally as the decrease in direct development at higher latitudes was accompanied by increasing critical daylengths, suggesting local adaptation in the diapause switch. 4. The differential expression among developmental pathways in development time and growth rate was significantly less pronounced in univoltine populations. Univoltine populations showed no significant signs of protandry during larval development, suggesting that erosion of the direct development pathway under relaxed selection has led to the loss of its sex-specific modifications.
Data from: Wolbachia-induced meiotic drive and feminization is associated with an independent occurrence of selective mitochondrial sweep in a butterfly
Maternally inherited Wolbachia endosymbionts manipulate arthropod reproduction in various ways. In the butterfly Eurema mandarina, a cytoplasmic incompatibility-inducing Wolbachia strain wCI and the associated mtDNA haplotypes are known to originate from the sister species Eurema hecabe, which offered a good case study for microbe-mediated hybrid introgression. Besides wCI, some females with the Z0 karyotype harbour a distinct Wolbachia strain wFem, which causes all-female production by meiotic drive and feminization. We report that a considerable proportion of E. mandarina females (65.7%) were infected with both wCI and wFem (CF) on Tanegashima Island. While females singly infected with wCI (C) produced offspring at a 1 : 1 sex ratio, CF females produced only females. Although Z-linked sequence polymorphism showed no signs of divergence between C and CF females, mtDNA split into two discrete clades; one consisted of C females and the other CF females, both of which formed a clade with E. hecabe but not with uninfected E. mandarina. This suggests that CF matrilines also, but independently, experienced a selective sweep after hybrid introgression from E. hecabe. Distinct evolutionary forces were suggested to have caused C and CF matrilines to diverge, which would be irreversible because of the particular phenotype of wFem.
Data from: Direct and plant trait-mediated effects of the local environmental context on butterfly oviposition patterns
Variation in the intensity of plant-animal interactions over different spatial scales is widespread and might strongly influence fitness and trait selection in plants. Differences in traits among plant individuals have been shown to influence variation in interaction intensities within populations, while differences in environmental factors and community composition are shown to be important for variation over larger scales. However, little is still known about the relative importance of the local environmental context vs. plant traits for the outcome of interactions within plant populations. We investigated how oviposition by the seed-predator butterfly Phengaris alcon on its host plant Gentiana pneumonanthe was related to host plant traits and to local environmental variation, as well as how oviposition patterns translated into effects on host plant fruit set. We considered the local environmental context in terms of height of the surrounding vegetation and abundance of the butterfly's second host, Myrmica ants. The probability of oviposition was higher in plants that were surrounded by lower vegetation, and both the probability of oviposition and the number of eggs increased in early-flowering and tall plants with many flowers in the three study populations. Flowering phenology, shoot height and flower production were, in turn, related to higher surrounding vegetation. Myrmica abundance was correlated with vegetation height, but had no effect on oviposition patterns. Oviposition and subsequent seed predation by the caterpillars strongly reduced host plant fruit set. Our results show that plant-animal interactions are context-dependent not only because the context influences the abundance or the behavior of the animal interactor, but also because it influences the expression of plant traits that affect the outcome of the interaction. The results also demonstrate that heterogeneity in environmental conditions at a very local scale can be important for the outcomes of interactions.
Data from: Genetic effects on life-history traits in the Glanville fritillary butterfly
Background: Adaptation to local habitat conditions may lead to the natural divergence of populations in life-history traits such as body size, time of reproduction, mate signaling or dispersal capacity. Given enough time and strong enough selection pressures, populations may experience local genetic differentiation. The genetic basis of many life-history traits, and their evolution according to different environmental conditions remain however poorly understood. Methods: We conducted an association study on the Glanville fritillary butterfly, using material from five populations along a latitudinal gradient within the Baltic Sea region, which show different degrees of habitat fragmentation. We investigated variation in 10 principal components, cofounding in total 21 life-history traits, according to two environmental types, and 33 genetic SNP markers from 15 candidate genes. Results: We found that nine SNPs from five genes showed strong trend for trait associations (p-values under 0.001 before correction). These associations, yet non-significant after multiple test corrections, with a total number of 1,086 tests, were consistent across the study populations. Additionally, these nine genes also showed an allele frequency difference between the populations from the northern fragmented versus the southern continuous landscape. Discussion: Our study provides further support for previously described trait associations within the Glanville fritillary butterfly species across different spatial scales. Although our results alone are inconclusive, they are concordant with previous studies that identified these associations to be related to climatic changes or habitat fragmentation within the Åland population.
Data from: Anthropogenic host plant expansion leads a nettle-feeding butterfly out of the forest: consequences for larval survival and developmental plasticity in adult morphology
Recent anthropogenic eutrophication has meant that hostplants of nettle-feeding insects became quasi-omnipresent in fertile regions of Western Europe. However, hostplant resource quality – in terms of microclimate and nutritional value – may vary considerably between the 'original' forest habitat and 'recent' agricultural habitat. Here, we compared development in both environmental settings using a split-brood design, so as to explore to what extent larval survival and adult morphology in the nettle-feeding butterfly Aglais urticae are influenced by the anthropogenic environment. Nettles along field margins had higher C/N-ratios and provided warmer microclimates to larvae. Larvae developed 20% faster, and tended to improve their survival rates, on the agricultural land compared to woodland. Our split-brood approach indicated plastic responses within families, but also family effects in the phenotypic responses. Adult males and females had darker wing pigmentation in the drier and warmer agricultural environment, which contrasts with the thermal melanism hypothesis. Developmental plasticity in response to this micro-climatically different and more variable habitat was associated with a broader phenotypic parameter space for the species. Both habitat-expansion and developmental plasticity are likely contributors to the ecological and evolutionary success of these nettle-feeding insects in anthropogenic environments under high nitrogen load.
Data from: Metabolome dynamics of diapause in the butterfly Pieris napi: distinguishing maintenance, termination and post-diapause phases
Diapause is a deep resting stage facilitating temporal avoidance of unfavourable environmental conditions that is used by many insects to adapt their life cycle to seasonal variation. Although considerable work has been invested in trying to understand each of the major diapause stages (induction, maintenance and termination), we know very little about the transitions between stages, especially diapause termination. Understanding diapause termination is critical for modelling and predicting spring emergence and winter physiology of insects, including many pest insects. In order to gain these insights we investigated metabolome dynamics across diapause development in pupae of the butterfly Pieris napi, which exhibits adaptive latitudinal variation in the length of endogenous diapause that is uniquely well characterized. By employing a time-series experiment we show that the whole-body metabolome is highly dynamic throughout diapause and differs between pupae kept at a diapause-terminating (low), or at a diapause-maintaining (high) temperature. We show major physiological transitions through diapause, separated temperature-dependent from temperature-independent processes and identified significant patterns of metabolite accumulation and degradation. Together the data show that while the general diapause phenotype (suppressed metabolism, increased cold tolerance) is established in a temperature-independent fashion, diapause termination is temperature-dependent and requires a cold signal. This revealed several metabolites that are only accumulated in diapause terminating conditions and degraded in a temperature-unrelated fashion during diapause termination. In conclusion, our findings indicate that some metabolites, in addition to functioning as e.g. cryoprotectants, are candidates for having regulatory roles as metabolic clocks or time-keepers during diapause.
Morpho butterflies eyespot data
<p>This data set contains (1) the presence absence data of each eyespot at each of the different putative locations (eyespot_nb.txt); (2) the coordinates of the 4 landmarks used to assess eyespot positions plus landmarks depicting wing shape for wing shape/eyespot covariation (Moyen-post-final.txt); (3) the coordinates of the semilandmarks and landmarks used to assess eyespot shape variation (Ocelles-contour-final BE.txt).</p>
Figure 3 in The tortoise caterpillar: carnivory and armoured larval morphology of the metalmark butterfly Pachythone xanthe (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae)
Figure 3. Scanning electron microscopy of the last instar of Pachythone xanthe. (a,b) Prothoracic plate in external (a) and internal (b) views; (c) head capsule in lateral view.
Figure 2 in The tortoise caterpillar: carnivory and armoured larval morphology of the metalmark butterfly Pachythone xanthe (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae)
Figure 2. Scanning electron microscopy of the penultimate instar of Pachythone xanthe. (a) Lateral view, arrow pointing the tentacle nectary organ (TNOs) openings; (b) semi-open prothoracic plates in frontal view showing the head; (c) head and thorax in lateroventral view; (d) prothoracic spiracle; (e) detail of head in frontal view; (f) cluster of perforated cupola organs (PCOs), glandular openings and arborescent setae on the prothorax; (g) detail of dorsal cluster of cone-like setae on the A3 abdominal segment; (h) detail of lateral fringe setae; (i) A4 abdominal spiracle; (j) TNO in lateral view, note opening surrounded by PCOs; (k) detail of specialised setae on TNO.
Figure 1 in The tortoise caterpillar: carnivory and armoured larval morphology of the metalmark butterfly Pachythone xanthe (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae)
Figure 1. Natural history of Pachythone xanthe and symbiotic interactions with Azteca cf. chartifex ants and scale insects on a Miconia sp. tree. (a,b), penultimate instar in lateral (a) and dorsal (b) views, note the tentacle nectary organs (TNOs) openings (arrows); (c–f) last instar preying on ant-tended scale insects (yellow arrow) (c), resting posture (d), and frontal views showing the prothoracic plates closed (e) and open revealing the head (f); (g,h) pupa in lateral (g) and dorsal (h) views; (i) freshly emerged adult.
FIGURE 7 in A Taxonomic Review of the Australian Butterfly Ray Gymnura australis (Ramsay & Ogilby, 1886) and Other Members of the family Gymnuridae (Order Rajiformes) from the Indo-West Pacific.
FIGURE 7. Claspers of Gymnura australis; 532 mm DW adult male: (a) dorsal view; (b) clasper skeleton, dorsal view; (c) clasper skeleton, ventral view. Abbreviations: at: accessory terminal cartilage; ax: axial cartilage; β: beta cartilage; b1: first intermediate cartilage; b2: second intermediate cartilage; bt: basipterygium; crh: cover rhipidion; cg: clasper groove; dm: dorsal marginal cartilage; dt1: dorsal terminal 1 cartilage; dt2: dorsal terminal 2 cartilage; erh: exorhipidion; P-2: pelvic fin; ps: pseudosiphon; rh: rhipidion; ta: tail; vm: ventral marginal cartilage; vt: ventral terminal cartilage. Illustrations by I. P. Jacobsen.
FIGURE 5 in A Taxonomic Review of the Australian Butterfly Ray Gymnura australis (Ramsay & Ogilby, 1886) and Other Members of the family Gymnuridae (Order Rajiformes) from the Indo-West Pacific.
FIGURE 5. Ventral head view of the Australian Butterfly Ray Gymnura australis var eastern Australia collected from Moreton Bay, south-east Queensland, mature male 373 mm DW (QM I 38138).
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.