Tuesday, March 12, 2013
07:30 PM
Hybridization and speciation in butterflies of the Amazon rainforest
MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University
Heliconius erato and H. cyrbia
James Mallet, Harvard University and University College London
It is a seductive idea that species are independent evolutionary units. Natural hybridization is rare in nature on a per-individual basis, but it may affect many species. Dr. Mallet will talk about his research on the brightly-colored Heliconius butterflies, which engage in Müllerian mimicry of other species. By using genomic tools, he has shown that genes that determine mimicry have been exchanged repeatedly among closely related species to form new combinations. Through combined effects on mating behavior and signaling to predators, these novel colour patterns are also involved in triggering evolution of new species. His study on those tropical butterflies, therefore, indicates that hybridization may be an important and still unappreciated factor shaping the evolution of insects and other animals.
The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:00 PM) at the Cambridge Commons restaurant.
CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:00 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.
