Evolution of host repertoires and the diversification of butterflies

All herbivorous insects are specialized to some extent to their host plants, but the level of specialization varies greatly. Insect-plant coevolution is often invoked to explain the large diversity of herbivorous insects, but the role of specialization during diversification is still controversial. Although well-studied, our understanding of the evolution of species interactions is still improving, and recent theoretical developments have highlighted the role of generalization (via colonization of new hosts) on diversification. In this thesis, various approaches are combined for a detailed study of the origins of macroevolutionary patterns of host use and butterfly diversity. Chapter I provides a mechanistic basis for such patterns through simulations of lineages evolved in silico. By separating the effects of the number of hosts used by a parasite lineage and the diversity of resources they encompass, we found that resource diversity, rather than host range per se, was the main driver of parasite species richness in both simulated and empirical systems. In Chapter II, we combined network and phylogenetic analyses to quantify support for the two main hypothesized drivers of diversification of herbivorous insects. Based on analyses of two butterfly families, Nymphalidae and Pieridae, we found that variability in host use is essential for diversification, while radiation following the colonization of a new host is rare but can produce high diversity. We then reconciled the two alternative hypotheses into a unified process of host-associated diversification where continuous probing of new hosts and retention of the ability to use hosts colonized in the past are the main factors shaping butterfly-plant networks. While network analysis is a powerful tool for investigating patterns of interaction, other methods are necessary to directly test the mechanisms generating the observed patterns. Therefore, in Chapter III we describe a model of host repertoire evolution we developed for Bayesian inference of evolution of host-parasite interactions. The approach was validated with both simulated and empirical data sets. Finally, in Chapter IV we used the method described in Chapter III to explicitly test the predictions made in Chapter II about the evolution of butterfly-plant networks. We found direct evidence for the role of expansion of fundamental host repertoire and phylogenetic conservatism as important drivers of host repertoire evolution. Thus, using three different approaches, we found overall support for the idea that variation in host use accumulated over evolutionary time is essential for butterfly diversification.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.