Evolution of Reproductive Plasticity in a Seasonal Tropical Environment
(2026) In Ecology Letters 29(5).- Abstract
Seasonality can drive the evolution of reproductive plasticity in insects. An extreme form is reproductive diapause, where individuals halt reproduction during unfavourable seasons. How diapause evolves from milder forms of plasticity (e.g., through changes in cue perception and responses) is poorly understood. In the tropics, seasonality is common, but it is unclear how widespread reproductive plasticity is, or how it correlates with dry and wet seasons. Here, we analyse reproductive plasticity in Amazonian butterflies using a four-year monthly time series of reproductive phenotypes. Sampling nine species across four Nymphalidae subfamilies, we observe a widespread occurrence of diverse reproductive plasticity, suggesting repeated... (More)
Seasonality can drive the evolution of reproductive plasticity in insects. An extreme form is reproductive diapause, where individuals halt reproduction during unfavourable seasons. How diapause evolves from milder forms of plasticity (e.g., through changes in cue perception and responses) is poorly understood. In the tropics, seasonality is common, but it is unclear how widespread reproductive plasticity is, or how it correlates with dry and wet seasons. Here, we analyse reproductive plasticity in Amazonian butterflies using a four-year monthly time series of reproductive phenotypes. Sampling nine species across four Nymphalidae subfamilies, we observe a widespread occurrence of diverse reproductive plasticity, suggesting repeated evolutionary changes in reproductive plasticity. Detailed analyses of two Catonephele species reveal a conserved cue (temperature), with species-specific divergence of cue response (dry season diapause only in C. acontius). Together, our data support the ubiquity of reproductive plasticity in the tropics and suggest repeated evolutionary change in diapause.
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- author
- Hicks, Marcus ; Escalante-Arteaga, Zunilda ; Retuerto-Silva, Lizett ; Kabir, Jamal ; Au, Tú Minh ; Halali, Sridhar LU ; Gallice, Geoffrey and Oostra, Vicencio
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-05
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Amazonia, diapause, evolutionary ecology, Neotropical butterflies, reproductive plasticity, seasonality
- in
- Ecology Letters
- volume
- 29
- issue
- 5
- article number
- e70401
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105039897828
- pmid:42179311
- ISSN
- 1461-023X
- DOI
- 10.1111/ele.70401
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s). Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- id
- ebf947a1-777a-48ea-aeed-c9b6fdb00a43
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-21 13:44:44
- date last changed
- 2026-08-04 14:08:54
@article{ebf947a1-777a-48ea-aeed-c9b6fdb00a43,
abstract = {{<p>Seasonality can drive the evolution of reproductive plasticity in insects. An extreme form is reproductive diapause, where individuals halt reproduction during unfavourable seasons. How diapause evolves from milder forms of plasticity (e.g., through changes in cue perception and responses) is poorly understood. In the tropics, seasonality is common, but it is unclear how widespread reproductive plasticity is, or how it correlates with dry and wet seasons. Here, we analyse reproductive plasticity in Amazonian butterflies using a four-year monthly time series of reproductive phenotypes. Sampling nine species across four Nymphalidae subfamilies, we observe a widespread occurrence of diverse reproductive plasticity, suggesting repeated evolutionary changes in reproductive plasticity. Detailed analyses of two Catonephele species reveal a conserved cue (temperature), with species-specific divergence of cue response (dry season diapause only in C. acontius). Together, our data support the ubiquity of reproductive plasticity in the tropics and suggest repeated evolutionary change in diapause.</p>}},
author = {{Hicks, Marcus and Escalante-Arteaga, Zunilda and Retuerto-Silva, Lizett and Kabir, Jamal and Au, Tú Minh and Halali, Sridhar and Gallice, Geoffrey and Oostra, Vicencio}},
issn = {{1461-023X}},
keywords = {{Amazonia; diapause; evolutionary ecology; Neotropical butterflies; reproductive plasticity; seasonality}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{5}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Ecology Letters}},
title = {{Evolution of Reproductive Plasticity in a Seasonal Tropical Environment}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.70401}},
doi = {{10.1111/ele.70401}},
volume = {{29}},
year = {{2026}},
}