Table 1.
Differences in body size and ecological characteristics of the Nymphalid butterflies compared in this study.
Figure 1.
Reduced minus oxidized difference spectrum of a butterfly thorax preparation.
Optical spectra of the flight muscle homogenate were collected in the ferricyanide oxidized and the dithionite reduced states. The difference spectrum has clear peaks at 550, 560 and 605c, b and a, respectively. This method allows highly accurate determination of tissue concentrations of the respiratory protein CytOx (also known as cytochrome aa3 or Complex IV).
Figure 2.
CytOx activity (A) and concentration (B) in flight muscles of Glanville fritillaries originating from old and new local populations.
Results are shown for individuals from old (open symbols; n = 15 males, 13 females) and new populations (filled symbols; n = 19 males, 24 females), plotted against thorax wet mass. Mean CytOx activities and concentrations are shown as horizontal lines (solid lines, new populations; dashed lines, old populations). Statistics in text.
Figure 3.
CytOx activity (A) and concentration (B) in flight muscles of five butterfly species with dissimilar flight behaviours.
Means (±SE) of CytOx activity (A) and concentration (B) for five species of butterfly, two short-distance fliers (open bars; Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus n = 5; Glanville fritillary M. cinxia n = 71), and three strong fliers (shaded bars; Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae n = 5; High Brown fritillary Argynnis adippe n = 5; Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta, n = 15). Letters denote differences between species (Tukey's HSD). Statistics in text.
Figure 4.
Mitochondrial structure and density in the flight muscles of two butterfly species with dissimilar flight behaviours.
(A) Microscopic images of flight muscle of the Glanville fritillary (a, c) and the Red Admiral (b, d). Mitochondria (m and arrows), sarcoplasmic reticulum (s) and myofibrils (my) are indicated. Bars are 500 nm in a and b, 1 µm in c and d. (B) Distribution of mitochondrial profiles from thin sections of the flight muscle.