法国Camille Le Roy团队研究揭示了Morpho蝴蝶飞行适应性的进化轨迹。该项研究成果发表在2021年11月26日出版的《科学》上。

研究人员通过将现场高速摄像与形态测量分析和空气动力学建模相结合，研究了生活在不同森林地层Morpho蝴蝶在翅膀形状、飞行行为和空气动力学效率方面的适应性协发散。通过比较树冠和林下物种，研究表明开放的树冠环境会提高滑翔效率。

此外，滑翔效率的提高是通过不同冠层物种飞行行为、翅膀形状和空气动力学机制的差异组合实现，突出了适应性进化的多种途径。

据介绍，飞行动物多样性研究表明，飞行形态和行为的组合随着特定的生活方式而进化，并且其利用了不同的空气动力学机制。形态、飞行行为和空气动力学特性如何与生态多样化协调的机制仍有待阐明。

附：英文原文

Title: Adaptive evolution of flight in Morpho butterflies

Author: Camille Le Roy, Dario Amadori, Samuel Charberet, Jaap Windt, Florian T. Muijres, Violaine Llaurens, Vincent Debat

Issue&Volume: 2021-11-26

Abstract: The diversity of flying animals suggests that countless combinations of flight morphologies and behaviors have evolved with specific lifestyles, thereby exploiting diverse aerodynamic mechanisms. How morphology, flight behavior, and aerodynamic properties together diversify with contrasting ecology remains to be elucidated. We studied the adaptive codivergence in wing shape, flight behavior, and aerodynamic efficiency among Morpho butterflies living in different forest strata by combining high-speed videography in the field with morphometric analyses and aerodynamic modeling. By comparing canopy and understory species, we show that adaptation to an open canopy environment resulted in increased glide efficiency. Moreover, this enhanced glide efficiency was achieved by different canopy species through distinct combinations of flight behavior, wing shape, and aerodynamic mechanisms, highlighting the multiple pathways of adaptive evolution.

DOI: abh2620

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh2620