Acuña-Valenzuela Thania, Hernández-Martelo Jordan, Suazo Manuel J, Lobos Isabel A, Piñeiro-González Alejandro, Villalobos-Leiva Amado, Cruz-Jofré Franco, Hernández-P Raquel, Correa Margarita, Benítez Hugo A
Laboratorio de Ecología y Morfometría Evolutiva, Centro de Investigación de Estudios Avanzados del Maule, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3466706, Chile.
Semillero de Investigación AGROCON, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Surcolombiana, Avenida Pastrana Borrero Carrera 1, Barrio Santa Inés, Neiva 410001, Huila, Colombia.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Sep 24;14(19):2758. doi: 10.3390/ani14192758.
The Andean Altiplano, characterized by its extreme climatic conditions and high levels of biodiversity, provides a unique environment for studying ecological and evolutionary adaptations in insect morphology. Butterflies, due their large wing surface compared to body surface, and wide distribution among a geographical area given the flight capabilities provided by their wings, constitute a good biological model to study morphological adaptations following extreme weathers. This study focuses on , a butterfly species widely distributed in the Andes, to evaluate wing shape variation across six localities in the Northern Chilean Altiplano. The geometric morphometrics analysis of 77 specimens from six locations from the Chilean Altiplano (Caquena, Sorapata Lake, Chungará, Casiri Macho Lake, Surire Salt Flat, and Visviri) revealed significant differences in wing shape among populations. According to the presented results, variations are likely influenced by local environmental conditions and selective pressures, suggesting specific adaptations to the microhabitats of the Altiplano. The first three principal components represented 60.92% of the total wing shape variation. The detected morphological differences indicate adaptive divergence among populations, reflecting evolutionary responses to the extreme and fragmented conditions of the Altiplano. This study gives insights into the understanding of how high-altitude species can diversify and adapt through morphological variation, providing evidence of ecological and evolutionary processes shaping biodiversity in extreme environments.
安第斯高原以其极端的气候条件和高度的生物多样性为特征，为研究昆虫形态的生态和进化适应性提供了独特的环境。蝴蝶由于其翅膀表面积与身体表面积相比很大，且凭借翅膀提供的飞行能力在一个地理区域内分布广泛，构成了研究极端天气后形态适应性的良好生物学模型。本研究聚焦于一种广泛分布在安第斯山脉的蝴蝶物种，以评估智利北部高原六个地点的翅膀形状变化。对来自智利高原六个地点（卡克纳、索拉帕塔湖、琼加拉、卡西里马乔湖、苏里尔盐沼和维斯维里）的77个标本进行的几何形态测量分析显示，不同种群之间的翅膀形状存在显著差异。根据呈现的结果，这些变化可能受到当地环境条件和选择压力的影响，表明对高原微生境有特定的适应性。前三个主成分代表了翅膀形状总变化的60.92%。检测到的形态差异表明种群之间存在适应性分化，反映了对高原极端和碎片化条件的进化反应。这项研究为理解高海拔物种如何通过形态变化实现多样化和适应提供了见解，为塑造极端环境中生物多样性的生态和进化过程提供了证据。
