Potential roles of evolutionary history and parental effects in butterfly responses to heavy metals

Responses of organisms to anthropogenic stressors are among some of the most classic examples of rapid evolution in action. However, we are only beginning to understand what factors may pre-dispose populations to evolutionarily track rapid anthropogenic change. I hypothesize that species that have evolved in relatively more stressful environments may be more likely to persist in the face of novel stressors produced by humans. One way I will test this hypothesis is by comparing populations of cabbage white butterflies that differ in their proximity to serpentine soil, a stressful environment that is naturally high in heavy metals such as nickel. When these populations are reared in a common garden and exposed to heavy metals through their diet, I predict that the populations that have more experience with heavy metals will 1) have better performance on metals than populations with less experience and 2) have different transgenerational effects of heavy metals. Preliminary results including development time, body size, and egg measurements will be discussed.