Event Title
Butterfly wing shape and glide performance
Collaborator(s)
Ann Cespedes
Faculty Sponsor
Carla Penz
Submission Type
Poster
Description
Butterfly flight performance is a function of wing shape, and the aspects of wing morphology that affect flight are under very strong selection. Adaptive morphological trends are visible in various groups of butterflies that exhibit gliding flight, as opposed to those relying solely on powered, flapping flight. While the correlation between wing morphology and butterfly flight behavior and performance is generally accepted, relatively few studies have sought to distill the relevant shape information from the “glider morphology” and quantify its adaptiveness. In this study, landmark based geometric morphometrics were used to quantify wing shape in 705 specimens that share similar ecology and microhabitat preferences, but differ in gliding ability and flight height. Multivariate analyses of these shapes provide us with a framework for testing the effects of various wing shape manipulations in model gliders. As gliding is a passive form of flight, handmade, unpowered butterfly models are appropriate subjects with which to measure the degree to which different shapes are aerodynamically favorable. By comparing the distances, speeds, and duration of glides over repeated trials, we aim not only to demonstrate that certain wing shapes are adapted to gliding flight, but also to pinpoint the particular aspects of these shapes that make these wings ideal. This project will ultimately inform and help to generate a model of wing morphology evolution in Nymphalid butterflies, to be tested within a comparative phylogenetic framework.
Butterfly wing shape and glide performance
Butterfly flight performance is a function of wing shape, and the aspects of wing morphology that affect flight are under very strong selection. Adaptive morphological trends are visible in various groups of butterflies that exhibit gliding flight, as opposed to those relying solely on powered, flapping flight. While the correlation between wing morphology and butterfly flight behavior and performance is generally accepted, relatively few studies have sought to distill the relevant shape information from the “glider morphology” and quantify its adaptiveness. In this study, landmark based geometric morphometrics were used to quantify wing shape in 705 specimens that share similar ecology and microhabitat preferences, but differ in gliding ability and flight height. Multivariate analyses of these shapes provide us with a framework for testing the effects of various wing shape manipulations in model gliders. As gliding is a passive form of flight, handmade, unpowered butterfly models are appropriate subjects with which to measure the degree to which different shapes are aerodynamically favorable. By comparing the distances, speeds, and duration of glides over repeated trials, we aim not only to demonstrate that certain wing shapes are adapted to gliding flight, but also to pinpoint the particular aspects of these shapes that make these wings ideal. This project will ultimately inform and help to generate a model of wing morphology evolution in Nymphalid butterflies, to be tested within a comparative phylogenetic framework.