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Seasonal plasticity and life-cycle adaptations in butterflies

AbstractPlasticity is a major component of phenotypic variation, interrelated with genetic differentiation through the existence of genetic variation in reaction norms. Phenotypic plasticity also makes...

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Host plant utilization in the comma butterfly: sources of variation and...

AbstractA major challenge in the study of insect-host plant interactions is to understand how the different aspects of offspring performance interact to produce a preference hierarchy in the...

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Adaptive variation in growth rate: life history costs and consequences in the...

AbstractAn important assumption made in most lifehistory theory is that there is a trade-off between age and size at reproduction. This trade-off may, however, disappear if growth rate varies...

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Oviposition plant preference and offspring performance in the comma...

AbstractThompson (1988) drew attention to the importance of studying correlations between the host-plant preferences of ovipositing female insect herbivores and performance of their offspring. The...

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Mating system evolution in response to search costs in the speckled wood...

Abstract A general and intuitive prediction from models of mate preference is that when the cost of searching for mates increases, individuals should become less choosy. Here, we test this prediction...

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Mating opportunity and the evolution of sex-specific mortality rates in a...

Abstract Life history theory predicts that organisms should only invest resources into intrinsic components of life span to the degree that it pays off in terms of reproductive success. Here, we...

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Butterfly Host Plant Choice in the Face of Possible Confusion

AbstractWe tested predictions from the theory that ovipositing females of phytophagous insects are limited by their neural capacity for information processing. Previous studies have found that...

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How Useful is Fluctuating Asymmetry in Conservation Biology: Asymmetry in...

AbstractIt has been suggested that minor, fluctuating differences in size of bilateral traits could validly indicate individual differences in developmental stability. One plausible reason for...

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Diversity begets diversity: host expansions and the diversification of...

AbstractBackgroundPlant-feeding insects make up a large part of earth's total biodiversity. While it has been shown that herbivory has repeatedly led to increased diversification rates in insects,...

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Butterfly host plant range: an example of plasticity as a promoter of...

AbstractMary Jane West-Eberhard has suggested that plasticity may be of primary importance in promoting evolutionary innovation and diversification. Here, we explore the possibility that the...

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Threat status in butterflies and its ecological correlates: how far can we...

AbstractIt would be very useful for conservation biologists to be able to predict threat status from ecological characteristics of species, and past studies have shown promising results. Regarding one...

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Timing major conflict between mitochondrial and nuclear genes in species...

AbstractBackgroundMajor conflict between mitochondrial and nuclear genes in estimating species relationships is an increasingly common finding in animals. Usually this is attributed to incomplete...

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Geographical variation in host plant utilization in the comma butterfly: the...

AbstractWhat is the role of time-constraints in determining geographical variation in the resource use of organisms? One hypothesis concerning phytophagous insects predicts a local narrowing of host...

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Phylogenetic relatedness and host plant growth form influence gene expression...

AbstractBackgroundThe mechanisms that shape the host plant range of herbivorous insect are to date not well understood but knowledge of these mechanisms and the selective forces that influence them can...

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Sex in an Evolutionary Perspective: Just Another Reaction Norm

AbstractIt is common to refer to all sorts of clear-cut differences between the sexes as something that is biologically almost inevitable. Although this does not reflect the status of evolutionary...

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Slowed aging during reproductive dormancy is reflected in genome-wide...

AbstractBackgroundIn models extensively used in studies of aging and extended lifespan, such as C. elegans and Drosophila, adult senescence is regulated by gene networks that are likely to be similar...

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Specialist and generalist oviposition strategies in butterflies: maternal...

AbstractHerbivorous insects specialized on a narrow set of plants are believed to be better adapted to their specific hosts. This hypothesis is supported by observations of herbivorous insect species...

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Evolutionary history of host use, rather than plant phylogeny, determines...

AbstractBackgroundAlthough most insect species are specialized on one or few groups of plants, there are phytophagous insects that seem to use virtually any kind of plant as food. Understanding the...

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Why stay in a bad relationship? The effect of local host phenology on a...

AbstractBackgroundIn plant-feeding insects, the evolutionary retention of polyphagy remains puzzling. A better understanding of the relationship between these organisms and changes in the metabolome of...

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