Micro and macro evolution in Morpho butterflies

Evolution of Flight

What is the impact of microhabitat on the evolution of flight? Does flight co-evolve with wing coloration? What is the impact of wing shape on wing deformation?

We combine field work – involving in particular stereovideography, allowing to quantify flight trajectories and kinematics – with aerodynamic analyses, in collaboration with physicists (Florian Muijres lab at Wageningen, Netherlands) to understand the selective pressures affecting the evolution of wing shape and flight, and test hypotheses about the co evolution of colours and flight.

This is the PhD project of Raphaël Dupillier.

The analysis of wing deformations and their contribution to aerodynamic forces is the postdoc project of Camille Arachelof