Project description
Revealing the secrets of butterfly wing colours
The wing patterns of butterflies and moths serve vital roles in communication and survival, yet their genetic origins remain surprisingly constrained. Funded by the ERC, the EWINCOL project will explore how limited genetic pathways have produced such extraordinary diversity in Lepidoptera. The project combines natural history collections, citizen science and AI to build a vast database of wing coloration and shape. This will allow researchers to trace the evolutionary history of wing patterns, test how colour and morphology interact, and assess environmental influences. EWINCOL promises fresh insight into how wing colours fuel diversification in one of Earth’s most varied groups.
Objective
The seemingly endless diversity of color patterns in the wings of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) is both a marvel and an enigma. On the one hand, it has been long known that the function of color patterns is visual communication, such as sexual signaling and predator deterrence. On the other hand, the fairly recent discovery that color patterns are determined by only a handful of genetic loci and associated regulatory elements, apparent constraints to diversification. The EWINCOL project will reconcile ecological function and variation of the developmental template to provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between the immense phenotypic and taxonomic diversity within the Lepidoptera that we see today. I posit that wing coloration has facilitated evolutionary diversification in Lepidoptera by being both genetically and developmentally conserved but evolutionarily labile, repeatedly generating variation that fuels selection. With the help of an ERC starting grant I will test this hypothesis by implementing a research program that will make innovative use of natural history museum collections and online citizen science platforms. First, I will leverage phenotypic information from large public image databases by using cutting edge artificial intelligence (AI) methods to create a comprehensive database of coloration and shape traits of all major Lineages within Lepidoptera. This database will then allow me to i) map out the evolutionary history of coloration in Lepidoptera and test how variation in coloration relates to diversification in a phylogenetic context, ii) investigate to which degree the evolution of coloration and wing morphology are independent from one another, and iii) ascertain the role of environmental factors like habitat, light and temperature in shaping the distribution of coloration in butterflies across the globe. Overall, EWINCOL will deepen our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics in one of the most diverse groups on earth.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence edge artificial intelligence
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG
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53113 Bonn
Germany
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