Male‐killer dynamics in the tropical butterfly,Acraea encedana (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) |
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| Authors: | Sami Saeed M. Hassan Eihab Idris Michael E. N. Majerus |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Hail, , Hail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;2. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum, , P.O. Box 321 Khartoum 11115, Sudan;3. Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge;4. Deceased Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, , Cambridge CB2 3EH, United Kingdom |
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| Abstract: | Sex ratio distortion in the tropical butterfly Acraea encedana is caused by infection with a male‐killing bacterium of the genus Wolbachia. Previous research on this species has reported extreme female bias, high bacterial prevalences, and full sex role reversal. In this paper, we provide an assessment for the dynamics of the male‐killer, based on a survey for sex ratios and Wolbachia prevalences among wild populations of A. encedana in Uganda. The study reveals that Wolbachia infection showed considerable variation over both spatial and temporal scales. |
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| Keywords: | female bias PCR population dynamics prevalence Wolbachia Uganda |
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