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dc.contributor.authorXing, Shuang
dc.contributor.authorCheng, Wenda
dc.contributor.authorNakamura, Akihiro
dc.contributor.authorTang, Chin Cheung
dc.contributor.authorPickett, Evan J
dc.contributor.authorHuang, Shuyin
dc.contributor.authorOdell, Erica
dc.contributor.authorGoodale, Eben
dc.contributor.authorGoodale, Uromi M
dc.contributor.authorBonebrake, Timothy C
dc.date.accessioned2019-06-19T13:07:51Z
dc.date.available2019-06-19T13:07:51Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.identifier.issn0024-4066
dc.identifier.doi10.1093/biolinnean/blx159
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/379872
dc.description.abstractMorphological traits can determine the ecological niches and performance of ectotherms and structure their distributions along environmental gradients. The thermal melanism hypothesis and Bergmann’s rule describe patterns of body colour luminance and body size along environmental gradients shaped by thermal influences on morphology. However, these patterns have rarely been investigated at the interspecific level for subtropical and tropical mountain environments. In this study, we sampled butterfly assemblages along elevations across three subtropical and tropical locations in China and examined how environmental factors affected body colour luminance and body size. We additionally reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among the sampled butterfly species and investigated morphology–elevation relationships within an evolutionary framework. Butterfly assemblages were consistently darker and larger at higher elevations across three replicate locations. Furthermore, based on a phylogenetic comparative analysis, we found that body colour luminance and body size of butterfly assemblages responded to elevation through both long-term processes and more recent environmental influences. Our findings support the thermal melanism hypothesis and Bergmann’s rule from diverse subtropical and tropical butterfly assemblages, indicating elevation may structure the distributions of tropical species through morphology. The thermal functions of morphology should therefore be considered when investigating species distribution patterns and responses to environmental changes.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherOxford University Press
dc.publisher.placeUnited Kingdom
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom506
dc.relation.ispartofpageto517
dc.relation.ispartofissue3
dc.relation.ispartofjournalBiological Journal of the Linnean Society
dc.relation.ispartofvolume123
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiological sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchOther biological sciences not elsewhere classified
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode31
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode319999
dc.titleElevational clines in morphological traits of subtropical and tropical butterfly assemblages
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dc.type.codeC - Journal Articles
gro.hasfulltextNo Full Text
gro.griffith.authorOdell, Erica H.
gro.griffith.authorNakamura, Aki


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