Molecular phylogeny and biogeography ofthe genus catasticata butler, 1870
- Authors
- Padron Mart?nez, Pablo Sebasti?n
- Format
- DoctoralThesis
- Status
- publishedVersion
- Description
This research project produced the first molecular phylogeny for one of the largest Andean butterfly radiations, the genus Catasticta Butler, 1870, and employed that phylogeny to investigate critical questions about how evolution has proceeded in this important but poorly studied group. DNA sequences for one mitochondrial (COI) and three nuclear (EF-1?, CAD and GAPDH) genes were generated for 78 species. This phylogeny was then used to test several hypotheses about the timing of diversification, ancestral area of origin and wing pattern evolution in the genus. The genus Catasticta was not recovered as monophyletic since C. cerberus was recovered as a lineage sister to Charonias and the genus Archonias was recovered inside Catasticta. Therefore, based on these results, I propose changes in the taxonomy to conserve Catasticta as monophyletic, including the synonymy of Archonias (n. syn.). The time calibrated phylogenetic tree indicates that the most-recent common ancestor occurred around 22.49 Ma and this originated in the Mesoamerican Montane region. Most of the speciation events at the species level have occurred between 5 to 12 Ma, and this period of time corresponds to the most important period of uplift of the Andes. Complexity of ventral wing pattern, possibly used in camouflage of males feeding on river banks, increased significantly with elevation, while sexual dimorphism showed no clear pattern with elevation. The origin and uplift of the Andes have therefore played an important role in the speciation and diversification of these butterflies. Locality data points were compiled for all species of Catasticta and used to estimate the distributions of all species. By overlaying species maps, the richness of Catasticta was also estimated, and this showed a clear pattern of high species richness in the Andes and in particular on the eastern slope, where as high as 37 species can be found in some areas. An important factor that limits the distribution of many of the species is elevation. This research sheds new light on the origin and diversification of Catasticta, and suggests that revision of the species-level taxonomy in a number of cases is still required, using molecular methods.
Los Andes Tropicales poseen algunos de los niveles m?s altos de diversidad de mariposas diurnas, dentro de esta diversidad sobresalen ciertos g?neros. El g?nero Catasticta Butler, 1870, con m?s de 96 especies reconocidas, es una de las mayores radiaciones evolutivas de mariposa andinas. Este proyecto utiliz? los datos de secuencias gen?micas (COI, EF@1, CAD y GAPDH), para producir la primera y m?s completa filogenia molecular a nivel de especie para cualquier g?nero de mariposas neotropicales. Esta hip?tesis filog?nica luego fue usada para investigar y responder preguntas claves acerca de las relaciones entre especies, su taxonom?a, procesos de especiaci?n, evoluci?n de patrones de coloraci?n, determinar el lugar y tiempo de origen.
- Publication Year
- 2014
- Language
- eng
- Topic
- ENTOMOLOG?A
BIOGEOGRAF?A
FILOGEN?TICA
BIOLOG?A
- Repository
- Repositorio SENESCYT
- Rights
- openAccess
- License