Dragonflies (Odonata) evolution: from colour to gene evolution to fossils

Seth Bybee
College of Life Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA

Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) are an excellent insect model for evolutionary studies. They occupy an ancient phylogenetic position, are among the best flyers of any animal group, have an excellent fossil record, exhibit an extensive phenotypic and at the same time a unique ecological diversity. The link between color and diversity is a question that remains to be explored broadly within insects. Using dragonflies, it is possible to examine color across the order and explore how this may have driven their diversification. The evolution of the genes that support odonate color vision (opsins) are explored in a phylogenetic context using ancestral reconstruction and tests of selection. An update of odonate phylogenetics, including the need for and challenges of combining fossils with extant taxa in a single phylogeny are presented.

Recent publications:

Toussaint, E., S.M. Bybee, R.J. Erickson^G, F.L. Condamine. 2019. Forest Giants on Different Evolutionary Branches: Ecomorphological Convergence in Helicopter Damselflies. Evolution.73(5): 1045-1054. doi.org/10.1111/evo.13695

Suvorov, A., N.O. Jensen^U, M.S. Fujimoto^G, P. Bodily, H.M. Cahill Wightman^G, C.R. Sharkey^P, T.H. Ogden, M.J. Clement, S.M. Bybee. 2017. Opsins have evolved under the permanent heterozygote model: insights from phylotranscriptomics of Odonata. Molecular Ecology. 26(5): 1306-1322. doi: 10.1111/mec.13884

Martin, G.K.F. Stanger-Hall, M.A. Branham. L.F.L Da Silveira, S.E. Lower, D.W. Hall, X.Y. Li, A.R. Lemmon, E.M. Lemmon, S.M. Bybee. 2019. Higher-level phylogeny and reclassification of Lampyridae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea). Journal of Insect Systematics and Diversity. Accepted

 seth.bybee@gmail.com