title: Integration of wings and their eyespots in the speckled wood butterfly Pararge aegeria.
abstract: We investigated both the phenotypic and developmental integration of eyespots on the fore- and hindwings of speckled wood butterflies Pararge aegeria. Eyespots develop within a framework of wing veins, which may not only separate eyespots developmentally, but may at the same time also integrate them by virtue of being both signalling sources and barriers during eyespot development. We therefore specifically investigated the interaction between wing venation patterns and eyespot integration. Phenotypic covariation among eyespots was very high, but only eyespots in neighbouring wing cells and in homologous wing cells on different wing surfaces were developmentally integrated. This can be explained by the fact that the wing cells of these eyespots share one or more wing veins. The wing venation patterns of fore- and hindwings were highly integrated, both phenotypically and developmentally. This did not affect overall developmental integration of the eyespots. The adaptive significance of integration patterns is discussed and more specifically we stress the need to conduct studies on phenotypic plasticity of integration.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ, UK. casper_j_breuker@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: Casper J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Breuker
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gibbs
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van Dyck
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Brakefield
authors.forename: Christian Peter
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Klingenberg
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van Dongen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D002080:Butterflies / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009024:Morphogenesis; D010641:Phenotype; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism