Date of Graduation
5-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Biology (PhD)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Biological Sciences
Advisor/Mentor
Erica L. Westerman
Committee Member
William J. Etges
Second Committee Member
Jeffrey A. Lewis
Third Committee Member
Brian A. Counterman
Keywords
Animal behavior; Learning; Neuroscience; Proteomics; Sexual selection; Transcriptomics
Abstract
Behavioral plasticity, where individuals change their behaviors in response to varying environmental and social conditions, affects major evolutionary trajectories. But how individuals change these behaviors under certain social situations, and what the genetic causes and consequences of such behavioral changes are in response to social environments are yet to be fully understood. I address these questions in the context of anti-predatory behaviors (chapter 1), and mate choice (chapters 2, 3, 4) in tropical butterflies. In the context of anti-predatory behaviors, I found predator-specific behavioral changes in toxic Heliconius butterflies, suggesting variance in predation pressures and butterfly recognition of bird calls. While behavioral responses to possible predation threats can enhance the survival of individuals, fitness also depends on mate selection and reproduction. In the context of mate choice, I show that variation in preference learning in two Heliconius melpomene subspecies is associated with heightened differential gene expression in the brain, including differential expression of genes associated with wing pattern, pheromone production, and flight, suggesting that these genes may be “magic genes” influencing both preference learning and preferred traits. Mating related behavioral plasticity has the potential to influence major evolutionary events, such as recurrence of sexually dimorphic brain regions in the Ithomiine butterflies. I further found that pre-mating preference learning changes the male reproductive investment during subsequent mating events by inducing differential investment of spermatophore proteins controlling oogenesis and circadian rhythms in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. As a whole, my research shows that behavioral plasticity influences major life history traits like survival and reproduction, and understanding the molecular causes, and consequences can illuminate major evolutionary trajectories, and inform future research in integrative animal behavior.
Citation
Potdar, S. (2024). The Causes and Consequences of Behavioral Plasticity in Anti-predatory Defense and Mate Choice in Tropical Butterflies. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/5303