Latest news with #Satyriumcuriosolus
Express Tribune
07-05-2025
- Science
- Express Tribune
Scientists discover new butterfly species after 40,000 years of isolation
Listen to article Scientists have discovered a new butterfly species, Satyrium curiosolus, in Canada's Alberta Waterton Lakes National Park, following groundbreaking genomic research that revealed its 40,000-year evolutionary isolation. The butterfly, long misidentified as Satyrium semiluna, is now recognised as a distinct species based on genetic, ecological, and behavioral evidence. With a wingspan of just over an inch and muted brown coloring, S. curiosolus lives exclusively on the Blakiston Fan, a prairie-grassland habitat unlike the sagebrush ecosystems of its relatives. It depends on silvery lupine (Lupinus argenteus) for larval development and has a unique mutualistic relationship with Lasius ponderosae ants—providing them honeydew in exchange for protection. A new study published in ZooKeys found that S. curiosolus has extremely low genetic diversity and high historical inbreeding. Despite these traits, researchers believe the butterfly has maintained a stable population, similar to how island species like the Channel Island fox have purged harmful mutations over time. Researchers warn that climate change could threaten this isolated species. Genetic rescue options are limited due to its distinctiveness and potential reproductive incompatibility with related species. Conservationists are now exploring the possibility of establishing additional populations to safeguard its future. 'This is a textbook example of how genomics is transforming conservation and species discovery,' said co-author Julian Dupuis of the University of Kentucky. The study highlights the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between scientists, conservationists, and Parks Canada. The discovery of S. curiosolus underscores the need to protect cryptic biodiversity and adapt conservation efforts to address species uniquely vulnerable to environmental change.
Washington Post
26-04-2025
- Science
- Washington Post
Scientists identify new ‘curiously isolated' butterfly species
Scientists have discovered a new butterfly species in the Canadian Rockies, they report in ZooKeys. The Satyrium curiosolus, or 'Curiously Isolated Hairstreak,' lives up to its name. Although it looks like another species, its distinctive genome and ecology suggest it may have been genetically isolated from other butterflies for up to 40,000 years. Until now, the species has been confused with a similar species, Satyrium semiluna, also known as the Half-Moon Hairstreak. Both species of butterfly are small with brownish-gray wings. A genetic analysis of butterflies found along Blakiston Fan, an area where a river channel widens in Alberta's Waterton Lakes National Park, showed a distinct species present only in that area. Though it looks like the Half-Moon Hairstreak, the new species has surprisingly unique genetics and ecology. The researchers added the 'curious' to the newly discovered butterfly's common name because of its uniquely 'small population size and high degree of long-term isolation,' the study says. That isolation is reflected in the butterflies' genome, which suggests the species has been both isolated and interbreeding for about 40,000 years. S. semiluna is considered endangered in Canada because of its small range and population size. The researchers suggest the newly discovered species be subject to the same conservation status, especially because of its lack of genetic diversity. It is unclear whether the newly discovered species can breed with other Satyrium species, they say. Because the rare butterflies may not be able to mate with their similar-looking counterparts, the researchers write, attempting cross-breeding may be harmful. They recommend further monitoring and assessment to determine how best to help the species survive. 'For now, the Curiously Isolated Hairstreak reminds us that even the smallest and most overlooked species can hold extraordinary scientific and conservation significance,' the researchers say in a news release.
CBC
25-04-2025
- Science
- CBC
'Curiously isolated' butterfly species discovered in Waterton Lakes National Park
We use trackers to collect some of your data in order to enhance your experience through personalized content and advertising. If you wish to limit online tracking on our platforms, please review your device and browser privacy settings before continuing your visit. Calgary New They're found exclusively in a small area and have an odd relationship with ants Tucked away in Waterton Lakes National Park, little greyish brown butterflies — long thought to be just another population of the half-moon hairstreak butterflies — are now being recognized as their own species known as Satyrium curiosolus, or the curiously isolated hairstreak. The pollinator lives exclusively across approximately 300 hectares of the prairie-grassland landscape of the Blakiston Fan, the park's largest alluvial fan — flat areas where flowing mountain streams have deposited sediment. And its territory is located more than 450 kilometres away from any of its relative populations in British Columbia or Montana, according to the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, a partner in the study. Zachary MacDonald, co-first author alongside Julian Dupuis of a new study published in the biodiversity research journal ZooKeys, said the new species is an exciting discovery, but what comes next is even more so. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," said MacDonald, La Kretz and NSERC postdoctoral fellow at the University of California. "I think what's most interesting to us is what do we do about the conservation of this highly endangered species now?" Using genomic tools, the researchers assembled the entire DNA sequence of the individual insects collected from Blakiston Fan. The resulting sets of genomes — along with ecological evidence — were used to determine the curiously isolated hairstreak was both genetically and ecologically removed from its closest relatives up to 40,000 years ago. James Glasier, a conservation population ecologist and co-author of the study, said that when the Wilder Institute and Parks Canada began looking at this butterfly population, they didn't go into it expecting to discover a new species. "When we kind of went through those five years doing all the research, we found out that it has a lot more unique traits than we thought," he said. "And so it's great. It makes it an endemic, unique species to Alberta and Canada." Meet the curious new species Named quite literally for its curiosity-provoking isolation in the Blakiston Fan, MacDonald said the curiously isolated hairstreak's genome indicates it has always been small with a wingspan of an inch to an inch and a half (2.5 to 4 centimetres). While other hairstreak populations have gone up and down in size over time (due to factors like the last ice age), the newly recognized butterfly "basically flatlined through time, and so it's been very small and very isolated for tens of thousands of years," he explained. On the outside, the new species looks much like its closest relative, the half-moon hairstreak. But unlike the half-moon hairstreak, which thrives in sagebrush steppe, the newly identified species relies on silvery lupine as its host plant to develop larvae and for caterpillars to feed on. They also have an interesting mutual relationship with a particular species of ant ( Lasius ponderosae). The curiously isolated hairstreak caterpillars excrete a sugary substance called honeydew for the ants to eat, while the ants protect the caterpillars from parasites and predators. When disturbed or when the temperature is too hot, the caterpillars retreat into ant galleries, according to the study. Adult females have been seen laying their eggs near the entrances of ant colonies, right under the silvery lupine plant. How genomics is reshaping taxonomy MacDonald said the study's use of genomics — the study of an organism's genome — allowed the researchers to answer questions they couldn't quite get at before. With a small effective population of about 500 individuals, the insect's genomic analysis revealed extremely low genetic diversity and exceptionally high levels of historic inbreeding, according to the study. "You would assume that inbreeding depression is going to drive this thing to extinction," MacDonald said. "But this population has been very small for a very long time, and slow inbreeding has basically allowed it to get rid of its bad genes." Arthur Shapiro, an entomologist and professor emeritus of evolution and ecology at the University of California, who was not involved in the study, said the research is "one more case where the genetics tells the story more dramatically than the morphology." He said this bolsters scientists' conviction that "there is more going on out there than may be superficially evident." "Decisions about species status used to be predicated almost entirely on morphology," he explained in an email. "Nowadays, genomics is of equal, if not overriding, importance." Conserving the endangered butterflies Glasier said the population's low genetic diversity poses a major concern for conserving the endangered species as it limits the butterfly's capacity to adapt to environmental change — especially the consequences of a warming climate like increased wildfires. He said the Wilder Institute, in partnership with Parks Canada, is already monitoring the population to see how it responds to changing conditions. Another challenge they're trying to tackle is invasive spotted knapweed, which threatens the quality of the butterflies' habitat in the Blakiston Fan. In the longer term, Glasier said the organizations are potentially looking at captive rearing. That means bringing some butterflies under human care and releasing them back into either their natural habitat or finding them another home within the park to start up a secondary population. "We have found a few places where we expect them to potentially survive, and so we're looking at potentially, in the future, releasing them there to spread the population out and allow for them to kind of expand a bit so that there's backup populations in the future," he said. Glasier said the challenge to conserve the curiously isolated hairstreaks is "definitely a puzzle" as they work on finding the best ways to protect the endangered species, but he feels optimistic about a "positive outcome."
