The Atlas of mitochondrial genetic diversity for Western Palearctic butterflies

Abstract: MotivationButterflies represent a model in biology and a
flagship group for invertebrate conservation. We provide four new
resources for the Western-Palearctic butterflies: 1) An updated checklist
comprising 552 species; 2) a curated dataset of 32,129 mitochondrial COI
sequences for 532 species, including a de novo reference library for the
Maghreb (Morocco and northern Algeria and Tunisia) and Macaronesia
(Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands); 3) seven indexes of intraspecific
genetic variation (IGV): observed and expected number of haplotypes,
haplotype and nucleotide diversity, two fixation indexes, and maximum
p-distance; 4) species-level maps illustrating the distribution of COI
variability and haplotype networks. The updated checklist will be
fundamental for any application dealing with butterfly diversity in
Western Palearctic. IGV indexes provide measures for genetic polymorphism
and spatial structure and represent proxies for dispersal capacity. These
resources will facilitate comparative studies of macrogenetics, will
foster integrative taxonomy, and will aid conservation strategies. Main
types of variables containedA complete species checklist in table format,
32,129 mitochondrial DNA-barcodes provided with metadata (species
membership, WGS84 coordinates, sequence length), and a book in PDF format
including the IGV atlas and indexes. Spatial location and grainThe
checklist encompasses Europe up to Urals in the east, north Macaronesia
(Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands), as well as the Maghreb (Morocco and
northern Algeria and Tunisia). DNA-barcodes have been retained in the
geographic interval of -31.3–67.5 degrees of longitude and 27.5–71.2
degrees of latitude. Time period and grainDNA-barcodes originate from
studies published between 1998-2022 and from de novo sequencing of 2,608
specimens done between 2007-2022. Major taxa and level of
measurementButterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea), analysed from
individual to species level. Software formatData and functions to manage
the dataset are provided in the iodatabase R package
(https://github.com/leondap/iodatabase) and in Dryad