Data from: Movement of a Heliconius hybrid zone over 30 years: a Bayesian approach

Hybrid zones have long been of interest to biologists as natural
laboratories where we can gain insight into the processes of adaptation
and speciation. Repeated sampling of individual hybrid zones has been
particularly useful in elucidating the dynamic balance between selection
and dispersal that maintains most hybrid zones. Here, we revisit a hybrid
zone between Heliconius erato butterflies in Panamá for a third time over
more than 30 years. We combine a novel Bayesian extension of stepped‐cline
hybrid zone models with environmental data to understand the genetic and
environmental causes of cline dynamics in this species. The cline has
continued to move west, likely due to dominance drive, but has slowed and
broadened. Environmental analyses suggest that widespread deforestation in
Panamá could be leading to decreased avian predation and relaxed
selection, causing the observed changes in cline dynamics.