Time-dependent effects of species interactions at macroevolutionary scale shape the diversity of mimetic butterflies

Abstract

AbstractIdentifying how species interactions may translate into macroevolutionary dynamics of trait and species diversification is challenging. Here, we test how Müllerian mimicry shapes macroevolutionary patterns of diversification in the Ithomiini butterflies. We show that the age of color patterns is the primary determinant of species richness within mimicry rings. We find pervasive phylogenetic signal in mimicry rings and in color patterns associated within polymorphic species. Only a small set of mimicry rings show high phylogenetic diversity, rings that often involve distantly-related butterflies. We identify patterns of saturation in the accumulation of new mimicry rings and in the number of evolutionary convergences towards the most species-rich mimicry rings. Those saturation patterns are likely caused by niche filling along various ecological dimensions, within and among the mimetic communities living in sympatry. The time-dependent effects detected in our study illustrate how neutral processes and ecological interactions interact and shape species and phenotypic diversification.