Reconciling genomic and ecological species delimitation using a
confusing group of butterflies
Abstract
Species delimitation is essential to understanding and categorizing our
planet’s biodiversity, particularly amidst rapid changes to
environmental conditions and natural landscapes. However, the process of
speciation is heterogenous and often complex, and robust
characterization of species boundaries has remained a challenge for many
taxa. Recent advances in both genomics and ecological modelling have
been a boon for research focused on population dynamics, and present
new, multidisciplinary opportunities for clarifying species boundaries
in taxa that have been difficult to classify otherwise. Here, we present
an approach to combining ecological niche models with next-generation
sequence data to aid in integrated species delimitation. We apply this
approach to the Speyeria atlantis-hesperis (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)
species complex, which is notorious for its muddled species
delimitations, morphological variation and mito-nuclear discordance.
Using genomic SNPs, we recovered substantial divergence, not only
between S. hesperis and S. atlantis, but also within S. hesperis, which
may be attributed to a combination of past introgression with another
species, S. zerene, and post-glacial range expansion. We then applied
niche modelling to assess ecological divergence and barriers to gene
flow among the recovered genomic lineages. Results of these analyses
suggest that adaptation to ecological conditions is hindering
contemporary gene flow between northern and southern populations of S.
hesperis, contributing to and reinforcing their genetic integrity. We
suggest that the current species delimitation of S. hesperis should be
revised, and demonstrate the utility of an approach to integrated
species delimitation that combines ecological and genomic data and
reconciles related species concepts.