101
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Persistence of a sugar-rejecting cockroach genotype under various dietary regimes. Sci Rep 2017; 7:46361. [PMID: 28406167 PMCID: PMC5390319 DOI: 10.1038/srep46361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Glucose-aversion is a heritable trait that evolved in a number of German cockroach (Blattella germanica L.) populations in response to strong selection with glucose-containing insecticide baits. However, in the absence of glucose-containing bait, glucose-averse (GA) cockroaches have lower performance than wild-type (WT) cockroaches in several fitness-determining traits. We allocated 48 caged populations initiated with homozygous GA and WT adults to four dietary treatments consisting of either pure rodent chow, rodent chow mixed to yield a content of either 20% glucose or 20% fructose, or a treatment consisting of choice between the 20% glucose- and the 20% fructose-containing food. After 6 months we found significantly higher frequency of WT individuals in populations restricted to the 20% glucose food, and after 12 months all dietary treatments contained significantly more WT individuals than expected. In accompanying experiments, we found lower survival and longer development time of GA nymphs restricted to glucose-containing food. We furthermore found evidence for assortative mating of females with males from their own genotype, with significant differences within WT cockroaches. Our study shows experimental evidence that within heterogeneous populations, WT German cockroaches will over time prevail in abundance over GA individuals, even when glucose is not a dietary component.
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102
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Vertacnik KL, Linnen CR. Evolutionary genetics of host shifts in herbivorous insects: insights from the age of genomics. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2017; 1389:186-212. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2016] [Revised: 12/16/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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103
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Weinstein BG, Graham CH. Persistent bill and corolla matching despite shifting temporal resources in tropical hummingbird-plant interactions. Ecol Lett 2017; 20:326-335. [PMID: 28150364 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2016] [Revised: 10/22/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
By specialising on specific resources, species evolve advantageous morphologies to increase the efficiency of nutrient acquisition. However, many specialists face variation in resource availability and composition. Whether specialists respond to these changes depends on the composition of the resource pulses, the cost of foraging on poorly matched resources, and the strength of interspecific competition. We studied hummingbird bill and plant corolla matching during seasonal variation in flower availability and morphology. Using a hierarchical Bayesian model, we accounted for the detectability and spatial overlap of hummingbird-plant interactions. We found that despite seasonal pulses of flowers with short-corollas, hummingbirds consistently foraged on well-matched flowers, leading to low niche overlap. This behaviour suggests that the costs of searching for rare and more specialised resources are lower than the benefit of switching to super-abundant resources. Our results highlight the trade-off between foraging efficiency and interspecific competition, and underline niche partitioning in maintaining tropical diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben G Weinstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA
| | - Catherine H Graham
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA
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104
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Landscape structure and agricultural intensification are weak predictors of host range and parasitism rate of cereal aphids. Ecol Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11284-016-1419-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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105
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Brooker RM, Feeney WE, White JR, Manassa RP, Johansen JL, Dixson DL. Using insights from animal behaviour and behavioural ecology to inform marine conservation initiatives. Anim Behav 2016; 120:211-221. [PMID: 29104297 PMCID: PMC5665575 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The impacts of human activities on the natural world are becoming increasingly apparent, with rapid development and exploitation occurring at the expense of habitat quality and biodiversity. Declines are especially concerning in the oceans, which hold intrinsic value due to their biological uniqueness as well as their substantial sociological and economic importance. Here, we review the literature and investigate whether incorporation of knowledge from the fields of animal behaviour and behavioural ecology may improve the effectiveness of conservation initiatives in marine systems. In particular, we consider (1) how knowledge of larval behaviour and ecology may be used to inform the design of marine protected areas, (2) how protecting species that hold specific ecological niches may be of particular importance for maximizing the preservation of biodiversity, (3) how current harvesting techniques may be inadvertently skewing the behavioural phenotypes of stock populations and whether changes to current practices may lessen this skew and reinforce population persistence, and (4) how understanding the behavioural and physiological responses of species to a changing environment may provide essential insights into areas of particular vulnerability for prioritized conservation attention. The complex nature of conservation programmes inherently results in interdisciplinary responses, and the incorporation of knowledge from the fields of animal behaviour and behavioural ecology may increase our ability to stem the loss of biodiversity in marine environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohan M. Brooker
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, U.S.A
| | - William E. Feeney
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, U.S.A
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K
| | - James R. White
- College of Tropical and Marine Science, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Rachel P. Manassa
- Water Studies Centre, School of Chemistry, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Jacob L. Johansen
- Marine Science Institute, University of Texas, Port Aransas, TX, U.S.A
| | - Danielle L. Dixson
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, U.S.A
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106
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Peterson DA, Hardy NB, Normark BB. Micro- and Macroevolutionary Trade-Offs in Plant-Feeding Insects. Am Nat 2016; 188:640-650. [PMID: 27860513 DOI: 10.1086/688764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
A long-standing hypothesis asserts that plant-feeding insects specialize on particular host plants because of negative interactions (trade-offs) between adaptations to alternative hosts, yet empirical evidence for such trade-offs is scarce. Most studies have looked for microevolutionary performance trade-offs within insect species, but host use could also be constrained by macroevolutionary trade-offs caused by epistasis and historical contingency. Here we used a phylogenetic approach to estimate the micro- and macroevolutionary correlations between use of alternative host-plant taxa within two major orders of plant-feeding insects: Lepidoptera (caterpillars) and Hemiptera (true bugs). Across 1,604 caterpillar species, we found both positive and negative pairwise correlations between use of 11 host-plant orders, with overall network patterns suggesting that different host-use constraints act over micro- and macroevolutionary timescales. In contrast, host-use patterns of 955 true bug species revealed uniformly positive correlations between use of the same 11 host plant orders over both timescales. The lack of consistent patterns across timescales and insect orders indicates that host-use trade-offs are historically contingent rather than universal constraints. Moreover, we observed few negative correlations overall despite the wide taxonomic and ecological diversity of the focal host-plant orders, suggesting that positive interactions between host-use adaptations, not trade-offs, dominate the long-term evolution of host use in plant-feeding insects.
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107
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Põldmaa K, Kaasik A, Tammaru T, Kurina O, Jürgenstein S, Teder T. Polyphagy on unpredictable resources does not exclude host specialization: insects feeding on mushrooms. Ecology 2016; 97:2824-2833. [PMID: 27859105 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2015] [Revised: 03/08/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The degree of ecological specialization plays a crucial role in shaping the structure and functioning of communities. However, comparing specialization within and among groups of organisms is complicated by both methodological issues and conceptual and terminological inconsistencies. Environmental predictability has been considered a key determinant of specialization though empirical evidence is still limited. Fungi and their insect consumers provide a poorly studied but promising system to measure host specialization and test the predictability hypothesis. In this study, we systematically sampled mushrooms in North European boreal forest, and reared total samples of fungivores colonizing the fruitbodies. Due to the unpredictable nature of mushrooms as a resource, low levels of host specialization can be predicted for these insects, which have indeed widely been considered polyphagous. Contrary to expectations, the majority of the studied fungus gnats were found not to exploit their host taxa indiscriminately. Not only were some mushroom taxa never colonized, the infestation rate of acceptable hosts also differed in most of these fungivores. Gnat species themselves formed continua with respect to the estimates of the degree of specialization, derived from parametric individual-based analyses of presence-absence data. In most cases, host use was best explained by models in which the hosts were classified at genus level, with limited support to specialization to particular host species, families, or orders. Indeed, most of the common fungivores appeared to preferentially use various species from one or a few mushroom genera while occasionally feeding on members of other host taxa. This pattern has likely evolved as a compromise between selective forces stemming from host unpredictability and taxon-specific chemical profiles of the mushrooms. Our study highlights the multidimensional nature of ecological specialization: a high number of acceptable hosts does not preclude considerable discrimination among members of the available resource pool. Such situations can only be revealed by individual-based analyses capable of capturing differences in partner-to-partner interaction intensities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kadri Põldmaa
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Ravila 14a, Tartu, 50411, Estonia
| | - Ants Kaasik
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, Tartu, 51014, Estonia
| | - Toomas Tammaru
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, Tartu, 51014, Estonia
| | - Olavi Kurina
- Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5D, Tartu, 51014, Estonia
| | - Siiri Jürgenstein
- Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5D, Tartu, 51014, Estonia
| | - Tiit Teder
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, Tartu, 51014, Estonia
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108
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Eyres I, Duvaux L, Gharbi K, Tucker R, Hopkins D, Simon JC, Ferrari J, Smadja CM, Butlin RK. Targeted re-sequencing confirms the importance of chemosensory genes in aphid host race differentiation. Mol Ecol 2016; 26:43-58. [PMID: 27552184 PMCID: PMC6849616 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2016] [Revised: 08/18/2016] [Accepted: 08/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Host‐associated races of phytophagous insects provide a model for understanding how adaptation to a new environment can lead to reproductive isolation and speciation, ultimately enabling us to connect barriers to gene flow to adaptive causes of divergence. The pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) comprises host races specializing on legume species and provides a unique system for examining the early stages of diversification along a gradient of genetic and associated adaptive divergence. As host choice produces assortative mating, understanding the underlying mechanisms of choice will contribute directly to understanding of speciation. As host choice in the pea aphid is likely mediated by smell and taste, we use capture sequencing and SNP genotyping to test for the role of chemosensory genes in the divergence between eight host plant species across the continuum of differentiation and sampled at multiple locations across western Europe. We show high differentiation of chemosensory loci relative to control loci in a broad set of pea aphid races and localities, using a model‐free approach based on principal component analysis. Olfactory and gustatory receptors form the majority of highly differentiated genes and include loci that were already identified as outliers in a previous study focusing on the three most closely related host races. Consistent indications that chemosensory genes may be good candidates for local adaptation and barriers to gene flow in the pea aphid open the way to further investigations aiming to understand their impact on gene flow and to determine their precise functions in response to host plant metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isobel Eyres
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Alfred Denny Building, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Ludovic Duvaux
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Alfred Denny Building, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Karim Gharbi
- Edinburgh Genomics, Ashworth Laboratories, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Rachel Tucker
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Alfred Denny Building, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - David Hopkins
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Alfred Denny Building, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Jean-Christophe Simon
- Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes, UMR 1349 IGEPP, Domaine de la Motte, INRA, 35653, Le Rheu Cedex, France
| | - Julia Ferrari
- Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Carole M Smadja
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554 CNRS-IRD-CIRAD-Université de Montpellier), Université de Montpellier, cc065, Place Bataillon, Campus Triolet, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Roger K Butlin
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Alfred Denny Building, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
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109
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Eyres I, Jaquiéry J, Sugio A, Duvaux L, Gharbi K, Zhou JJ, Legeai F, Nelson M, Simon JC, Smadja CM, Butlin R, Ferrari J. Differential gene expression according to race and host plant in the pea aphid. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:4197-215. [PMID: 27474484 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2015] [Revised: 07/07/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Host-race formation in phytophagous insects is thought to provide the opportunity for local adaptation and subsequent ecological speciation. Studying gene expression differences amongst host races may help to identify phenotypes under (or resulting from) divergent selection and their genetic, molecular and physiological bases. The pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) comprises host races specializing on numerous plants in the Fabaceae and provides a unique system for examining the early stages of diversification along a gradient of genetic and associated adaptive divergence. In this study, we examine transcriptome-wide gene expression both in response to environment and across pea aphid races selected to cover the range of genetic divergence reported in this species complex. We identify changes in expression in response to host plant, indicating the importance of gene expression in aphid-plant interactions. Races can be distinguished on the basis of gene expression, and higher numbers of differentially expressed genes are apparent between more divergent races; these expression differences between host races may result from genetic drift and reproductive isolation and possibly divergent selection. Expression differences related to plant adaptation include a subset of chemosensory and salivary genes. Genes showing expression changes in response to host plant do not make up a large portion of between-race expression differences, providing confirmation of previous studies' findings that genes involved in expression differences between diverging populations or species are not necessarily those showing initial plasticity in the face of environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isobel Eyres
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Alfred Denny Building, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Julie Jaquiéry
- CNRS UMR 6553 ECOBIO, Université de Rennes 1, Avenue du Général Leclerc, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France
| | - Akiko Sugio
- INRA, Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes, UMR 1349 IGEPP, Domaine de la Motte, 35653, Le Rheu Cedex, France
| | - Ludovic Duvaux
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Alfred Denny Building, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Karim Gharbi
- Edinburgh Genomics, Ashworth Laboratories, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jing-Jiang Zhou
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Fabrice Legeai
- INRA, Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes, UMR 1349 IGEPP, Domaine de la Motte, 35653, Le Rheu Cedex, France
| | | | - Jean-Christophe Simon
- INRA, Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes, UMR 1349 IGEPP, Domaine de la Motte, 35653, Le Rheu Cedex, France
| | - Carole M Smadja
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554 CNRS-IRD-CIRAD-Université de Montpellier), Université Montpellier 2, cc065, Place Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Roger Butlin
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Alfred Denny Building, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
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110
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Gloss AD, Groen SC, Whiteman NK. A genomic perspective on the generation and maintenance of genetic diversity in herbivorous insects. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2016; 47:165-187. [PMID: 28736510 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-121415-032220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the processes that generate and maintain genetic variation within populations is a central goal in evolutionary biology. Theory predicts that some of this variation is maintained as a consequence of adapting to variable habitats. Studies in herbivorous insects have played a key role in confirming this prediction. Here, we highlight theoretical and conceptual models for the maintenance of genetic diversity in herbivorous insects, empirical genomic studies testing these models, and pressing questions within the realm of evolutionary and functional genomic studies. To address key gaps, we propose an integrative approach combining population genomic scans for adaptation, genome-wide characterization of targets of selection through experimental manipulations, mapping the genetic architecture of traits influencing fitness, and functional studies. We also stress the importance of studying the maintenance of genetic variation across biological scales-from variation within populations to divergence among populations-to form a comprehensive view of adaptation in herbivorous insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D Gloss
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Simon C Groen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Noah K Whiteman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, California
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111
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Brandl SJ, Robbins WD, Bellwood DR. Exploring the nature of ecological specialization in a coral reef fish community: morphology, diet and foraging microhabitat use. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:rspb.2015.1147. [PMID: 26354935 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Patterns of ecological specialization offer invaluable information about ecosystems. Yet, specialization is rarely quantified across several ecological niche axes and variables beyond the link between morphological and dietary specialization have received little attention. Here, we provide a quantitative evaluation of ecological specialization in a coral reef fish assemblage (f. Acanthuridae) along one fundamental and two realized niche axes. Specifically, we examined ecological specialization in 10 surgeonfish species with regards to morphology and two realized niche axes associated with diet and foraging microhabitat utilization using a recently developed multidimensional framework. We then investigated the potential relationships between morphological and behavioural specialization. These relationships differed markedly from the traditional ecomorphological paradigm. While morphological specialization showed no relationship with dietary specialization, it exhibited a strong relationship with foraging microhabitat specialization. However, this relationship was inverted: species with specialized morphologies were microhabitat generalists, whereas generalized morphotypes were microhabitat specialists. Interestingly, this mirrors relationships found in plant-pollinator communities and may also be applicable to other ecosystems, highlighting the potential importance of including niche axes beyond dietary specialization into ecomorphological frameworks. On coral reefs, it appears that morphotypes commonly perceived as most generalized may, in fact, be specialized in exploiting flat and easily accessible microhabitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon J Brandl
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - William D Robbins
- College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Wildlife Marine, Perth, Australia
| | - David R Bellwood
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
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112
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López-Carretero A, Boege K, Díaz-Castelazo C, Domínguez Z, Rico-Gray V. Influence of plant resistance traits in selectiveness and species strength in a tropical plant-herbivore network. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2016; 103:1436-1448. [PMID: 27539260 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1600045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY Plant-herbivore networks are highly specialized in their interactions, yet they are highly variable with regard to the relative importance of specific host species for herbivores. How host species traits determine specialization and species strength in this antagonistic network is still an unanswered question that we addressed in this study. METHODS We assessed plant cover and antiherbivore resistance traits to assess the extent to which they accounted for the variation in specialization and strength of interactions among species in a plant-herbivore network. We studied a tropical antagonistic network including a diverse herbivore-host plant assemblages in different habitat types and climatic seasons, including host plants with different life histories. KEY RESULTS Particular combinations of leaf toughness, trichome density, and phenolic compounds influenced herbivore specialization and host species strength, but with a significant spatiotemporal variation among plant life histories. Conversely, plant-herbivore network parameters were not influenced by plant cover. CONCLUSIONS Our study highlights the importance of species-specific resistance traits of plants to understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of plant-herbivore interaction networks. The novelty of our research lies in the use of a trait-based approach to understand the variation observed in diverse plant-herbivore networks.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Karina Boege
- Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | | | - Zaira Domínguez
- Unidad de Servicios de Apoyo en Resolución Analítica, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - Víctor Rico-Gray
- Instituto de Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
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113
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Abstract
Many areas of research in ecology and evolutionary biology depend on the quantification of dietary niche width. For herbivorous insects, diet breadth has most often been measured as simply the number and type of host plant taxa attacked. We propose an index of host range (which we refer to as "ordinated diet breadth") based on observed associations between plants and insects, and the calculation of multivariate distances among plants in ordination space. Similarities and distances are calculated based on host association and, in this context, potentially encompass multiple properties of plants, including phytochemistry, phenology, and other plant traits. This approach can distinguish between herbivores that utilize suites of hosts that are commonly used together and herbivores that attack unusual host combinations, and thus have a relatively broad diet breadth. For illustration, we use a data set of nymphalid butterfly host records, and compare taxonomic and ordinated host range. For a large number of butterfly taxa, we find that host use is clustered in multivariate space with respect to associations observed across all of the butterfly taxa. Applications are discussed, including a hypothesis test of nonrandom host association, and prediction of shifts and expansions of diet breadth.
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114
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Gompert Z, Messina FJ. Genomic evidence that resource-based trade-offs limit host-range expansion in a seed beetle. Evolution 2016; 70:1249-64. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2015] [Accepted: 04/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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115
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Smilanich AM, Fincher RM, Dyer LA. Does plant apparency matter? Thirty years of data provide limited support but reveal clear patterns of the effects of plant chemistry on herbivores. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2016; 210:1044-1057. [PMID: 26889654 DOI: 10.1111/nph.13875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2015] [Accepted: 12/23/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
According to the plant-apparency hypothesis, apparent plants allocate resources to quantitative defenses that negatively affect generalist and specialist herbivores, while unapparent plants invest more in qualitative defenses that negatively affect nonadapted generalists. Although this hypothesis has provided a useful framework for understanding the evolution of plant chemical defense, there are many inconsistencies surrounding associated predictions, and it has been heavily criticized and deemed obsolete. We used a hierarchical Bayesian meta-analysis model to test whether defenses from apparent and unapparent plants differ in their effects on herbivores. We collected a total of 225 effect sizes from 158 published papers in which the effects of plant chemistry on herbivore performance were reported. As predicted by the plant-apparency hypothesis, we found a prevalence of quantitative defenses in woody plants and qualitative defenses in herbaceous plants. However, the detrimental impacts of qualitative defenses were more effective against specialists than generalists, and the effects of chemical defenses did not significantly differ between specialists and generalists for woody or herbaceous plants. A striking pattern that emerged from our data was a pervasiveness of beneficial effects of secondary metabolites on herbivore performance, especially generalists. This pattern provides evidence that herbivores are evolving effective counteradaptations to putative plant defenses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela M Smilanich
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia St, Reno, NV, 89557, USA
| | - R Malia Fincher
- Department of Biology, Samford University, 800 Lakeshore Dr., Birmingham, AL, 35229, USA
| | - Lee A Dyer
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, 1664 N. Virginia St, Reno, NV, 89557, USA
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116
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Day EH, Hua X, Bromham L. Is specialization an evolutionary dead end? Testing for differences in speciation, extinction and trait transition rates across diverse phylogenies of specialists and generalists. J Evol Biol 2016; 29:1257-67. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2015] [Revised: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- E. H. Day
- Centre for Macroevolution & Macroecology; Division of Ecology, Evolution and Genetics; Research School of Biology; Australian National University; Canberra ACT Australia
| | - X. Hua
- Centre for Macroevolution & Macroecology; Division of Ecology, Evolution and Genetics; Research School of Biology; Australian National University; Canberra ACT Australia
| | - L. Bromham
- Centre for Macroevolution & Macroecology; Division of Ecology, Evolution and Genetics; Research School of Biology; Australian National University; Canberra ACT Australia
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117
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Petschenka G, Agrawal AA. How herbivores coopt plant defenses: natural selection, specialization, and sequestration. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2016; 14:17-24. [PMID: 27436642 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2015.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2015] [Revised: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/20/2015] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
We review progress in understanding sequestration by herbivorous insects, the use of plant chemical defenses for their own defense. We incorporate sequestration into the framework of plant-insect coevolution by integrating three hierarchical issues: (1) the relationship between dietary specialization and sequestration of plant defenses, (2) the physiological mechanisms involved in sequestration, and (3) how sequestration evolves via interactions between trophic levels. Sequestration is often associated with specialization, but even specialized sequestration is not an evolutionary dead-end. Despite considerable progress in understanding physiological mechanisms, detailed knowledge of how plant toxins cross the insect gut epithelium is still largely lacking. Sequestration is likely a major vehicle for coevolutionary escalation in speciose plant-insect-predator interactions, suggesting that a strictly bitrophic view is untenable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Petschenka
- Institut für Insektenbiotechnologie, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
| | - Anurag A Agrawal
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, E425 Corson Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
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118
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Scherrer S, Lepesqueur C, Vieira MC, Almeida‐Neto M, Dyer L, Forister M, Diniz IR. Seasonal variation in diet breadth of folivorous Lepidoptera in the Brazilian cerrado. Biotropica 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Scheila Scherrer
- Programa de Pós‐graduação em Ecologia Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade de Brasília Colégio Militar de Brasília CEP 70910‐900 Brasília DF Brazil
| | - Cintia Lepesqueur
- Departamento de Zoologia Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade de Brasília CEP 70910‐900 Brasília DF Brazil
| | - Marcos C. Vieira
- Programa de Pós‐graduação em Ecologia e Evolução Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade Federal de Goiás CEP 74001‐970 Goiânia GO Brazil
| | - Mário Almeida‐Neto
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade Federal de Goiás CEP 74001‐970 Goiânia GO Brazil
| | - Lee Dyer
- Biology Department University of Nevada Reno Reno Nevada 89557 U.S.A
| | - Matt Forister
- Biology Department University of Nevada Reno Reno Nevada 89557 U.S.A
| | - Ivone Rezende Diniz
- Departamento de Zoologia Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade de Brasília CEP 70910‐900 Brasília DF Brazil
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119
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Ivens ABF, von Beeren C, Blüthgen N, Kronauer DJC. Studying the Complex Communities of Ants and Their Symbionts Using Ecological Network Analysis. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2016; 61:353-371. [PMID: 26982442 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-010715-023719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Ant colonies provide well-protected and resource-rich environments for a plethora of symbionts. Historically, most studies of ants and their symbionts have had a narrow taxonomic scope, often focusing on a single ant or symbiont species. Here we discuss the prospects of studying these assemblies in a community ecology context using the framework of ecological network analysis. We introduce three basic network metrics that we consider particularly relevant for improving our knowledge of ant-symbiont communities: interaction specificity, network modularity, and phylogenetic signal. We then discuss army ant symbionts as examples of large and primarily parasitic communities, and symbiotic sternorrhynchans as examples of generally smaller and primarily mutualistic communities in the context of these network analyses. We argue that this approach will provide new and complementary insights into the evolutionary and ecological dynamics between ants and their many associates, and will facilitate comparisons across different ant-symbiont assemblages as well as across different types of ecological networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aniek B F Ivens
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065; , ,
| | - Christoph von Beeren
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065; , ,
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Department of Biology, Ecological Networks, Technical University Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany;
| | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065; , ,
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120
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Cripps MG, Jackman SD, Roquet C, van Koten C, Rostás M, Bourdôt GW, Susanna A. Evolution of Specialization of Cassida rubiginosa on Cirsium arvense (Compositae, Cardueae). FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2016; 7:1261. [PMID: 27602042 PMCID: PMC4994537 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2016] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
The majority of herbivorous insects are specialized feeders restricted to a plant family, genus, or species. The evolution of specialized insect-plant interactions is generally considered to be a result of trade-offs in fitness between possible hosts. Through the course of natural selection, host plants that maximize insect fitness should result in optimal, specialized, insect-plant associations. However, the extent to which insects are tracking plant phylogeny or key plant traits that act as herbivore resistance or acceptance characters is uncertain. Thus, with regard to the evolution of host plant specialization, we tested if insect performance is explained by phylogenetic relatedness of potential host plants, or key plant traits that are not phylogenetically related. We tested the survival (naive first instar to adult) of the oligophagous leaf-feeding beetle, Cassida rubiginosa, on 16 selected representatives of the Cardueae tribe (thistles and knapweeds), including some of the worst weeds in temperate grasslands of the world in terms of the economic impacts caused by lost productivity. Leaf traits (specific leaf area, leaf pubescence, flavonoid concentration, carbon and nitrogen content) were measured as explanatory variables and tested in relation to survival of the beetle, and the phylogenetic signal of the traits were examined. The survival of C. rubiginosa decreased with increasing phylogenetic distance from the known primary host plant, C. arvense, suggesting that specialization is a conserved character, and that insect host range, to a large degree is constrained by evolutionary history. The only trait measured that clearly offered some explanatory value for the survival of C. rubiginosa was specific leaf area. This trait was not phylogenetically dependant, and when combined with phylogenetic distance from C. arvense gave the best model explaining C. rubiginosa survival. We conclude that the specialization of the beetle is explained by a combination of adaptation to an optimal host plant over evolutionary time, and key plant traits such as specific leaf area that can restrict or broaden host utilization within the Cardueae lineage. The phylogenetic pattern of C. rubiginosa fitness will aid in predicting the ability of this biocontrol agent to control multiple Cardueae weeds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael G. Cripps
- AgResearch Ltd.Lincoln, New Zealand
- *Correspondence: Michael G. Cripps,
| | | | - Cristina Roquet
- Laboratoire d’Écologie Alpine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Grenoble AlpesGrenoble, France
| | | | - Michael Rostás
- Bio-Protection Research Centre, University of LincolnLincoln, New Zealand
| | | | - Alfonso Susanna
- Institut Botànic de Barcelona – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas – Institut de Cultura de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
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Responses of community-level plant-insect interactions to climate warming in a meadow steppe. Sci Rep 2015; 5:18654. [PMID: 26686758 PMCID: PMC4685464 DOI: 10.1038/srep18654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 11/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate warming may disrupt trophic interactions, consequently influencing ecosystem functioning. Most studies have concentrated on the temperature-effects on plant-insect interactions at individual and population levels, with a particular emphasis on changes in phenology and distribution. Nevertheless, the available evidence from the community level is limited. A 3-year field manipulative experiment was performed to test potential responses of plant and insect communities, and plant-insect interactions, to elevated temperature in a meadow steppe. Warming increased the biomass of plant community and forbs, and decreased grass biomass, indicating a shift from grass-dominant to grass-forb mixed plant community. Reduced abundance of the insect community under warming, particularly the herbivorous insects, was attributed to lower abundance of Euchorthippus unicolor and a Cicadellidae species resulting from lower food availability and higher defensive herbivory. Lower herbivore abundance caused lower predator species richness because of reduced prey resources and contributed to an overall decrease in insect species richness. Interestingly, warming enhanced the positive relationship between insect and plant species richness, implying that the strength of the plant-insect interactions was altered by warming. Our results suggest that alterations to plant-insect interactions at a community level under climate warming in grasslands may be more important and complex than previously thought.
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123
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Fine PV. Ecological and Evolutionary Drivers of Geographic Variation in Species Diversity. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2015. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 247] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paul V.A. Fine
- Department of Integrative Biology and University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720;
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124
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Strona G. Past, present and future of host-parasite co-extinctions. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2015; 4:431-41. [PMID: 26835251 PMCID: PMC4699984 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2015] [Revised: 08/25/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Human induced ecosystem alterations and climate change are expected to drive several species to extinction. In this context, the attention of public opinion, and hence conservationists' efforts, are often targeted towards species having emotional, recreational and/or economical value. This tendency may result in a high number of extinctions happening unnoticed. Among these, many could involve parasites. Several studies have highlighted various reasons why we should care about this, that go far beyond the fact that parasites are amazingly diverse. A growing corpus of evidence suggests that parasites contribute much to ecosystems both in terms of biomass and services, and the seemingly paradoxical idea that a healthy ecosystem is one rich in parasites is becoming key to the whole concept of parasite conservation. Although various articles have covered different aspects of host-parasite co-extinctions, I feel that some important conceptual issues still need to be formally addressed. In this review, I will attempt at clarifying some of them, with the aim of providing researchers with a unifying conceptual framework that could help them designing future studies. In doing this, I will try to draw a more clear distinction between the (co-)evolutionary and the ecological dimensions of co-extinction studies, since the ongoing processes that are putting parasites at risk now operate at a scale that is extremely different from the one that has shaped host-parasite networks throughout million years of co-evolution. Moreover, I will emphasize how the complexity of direct and indirect effects of parasites on ecosystems makes it much challenging to identify the mechanisms possibly leading to co-extinction events, and to predict how such events will affect ecosystems in the long run.
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125
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Grosman AH, Molina-Rugama AJ, Mendes-Dias R, Sabelis MW, Menken SBJ, Pallini A, Breeuwer JAJ, Janssen A. No adaptation of a herbivore to a novel host but loss of adaptation to its native host. Sci Rep 2015; 5:16211. [PMID: 26577696 PMCID: PMC4649677 DOI: 10.1038/srep16211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2015] [Accepted: 10/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Most herbivorous arthropods are host specialists and the question is which mechanisms drive the evolution of such specialization. The theory of antagonistic pleiotropy suggests that there is a trade-off between adaptation of herbivores to a novel host and their native host. The mutation accumulation hypothesis proposes that herbivores on a novel host lose their adaptation to the native host through the accumulation of mutations with negligible effects on performance on the novel host. Experimental evidence for either of the two hypotheses is scarce. We compared the fitness of two sympatric moth strains from an introduced host and a native host. The strain from the novel host did not perform better on this host than the strain from the native host. The strain from the novel host performed less well on the native host than did the strain from the native host. Hence, selection on the novel host did not result in noticeable gain in performance, but adaptation to the native host was lost. These results are more readily explained by the mutation-accumulation hypothesis than by the trade-off hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir H Grosman
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Maurice W Sabelis
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Steph B J Menken
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Angelo Pallini
- Department of Entomology, Federal University of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Johannes A J Breeuwer
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Arne Janssen
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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126
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Thomsen PF, Jørgensen PS, Bruun HH, Pedersen J, Riis-Nielsen T, Jonko K, Słowińska I, Rahbek C, Karsholt O. Resource specialists lead local insect community turnover associated with temperature - analysis of an 18-year full-seasonal record of moths and beetles. J Anim Ecol 2015; 85:251-61. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2015] [Accepted: 09/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Philip Francis Thomsen
- Centre for GeoGenetics; Natural History Museum of Denmark; University of Copenhagen; Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Peter Søgaard Jørgensen
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate; Department of Biology; University of Copenhagen; Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Hans Henrik Bruun
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate; Department of Biology; University of Copenhagen; Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Jan Pedersen
- Center for Macroecology; Evolution and Climate; Natural History Museum of Denmark; University of Copenhagen; Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Torben Riis-Nielsen
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management; University of Copenhagen; Copenhagen Denmark
| | | | - Iwona Słowińska
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology; University of Łódź; Banacha 12/16 90-237 Łódź Poland
| | - Carsten Rahbek
- Center for Macroecology; Evolution and Climate; Natural History Museum of Denmark; University of Copenhagen; Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Ole Karsholt
- Natural History Museum of Denmark; University of Copenhagen; Copenhagen Denmark
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127
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Vamosi JC, Armbruster WS, Renner SS. Evolutionary ecology of specialization: insights from phylogenetic analysis. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 281:rspb.2014.2004. [PMID: 25274367 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In this Special feature, we assemble studies that illustrate phylogenetic approaches to studying salient questions regarding the effect of specialization on lineage diversification. The studies use an array of techniques involving a wide-ranging collection of biological systems (plants, butterflies, fish and amphibians are all represented). Their results reveal that macroevolutionary examination of specialization provides insight into the patterns of trade-offs in specialized systems; in particular, the genetic mechanisms of trade-offs appear to extend to very different aspects of life history in different groups. In turn, because a species may be a specialist from one perspective and a generalist in others, these trade-offs influence whether we perceive specialization to have effects on the evolutionary success of a lineage when we examine specialization only along a single axis. Finally, how geographical range influences speciation and extinction of specialist lineages remains a question offering much potential for further insight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana C Vamosi
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2L 0Z3
| | - W Scott Armbruster
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2DY, UK Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99709, USA Department of Biology, NTNU, Trondheim 7491, Norway
| | - Susanne S Renner
- Systematic Botany and Mycology, Department of Biology, University of Munich (LMU), Munich 80638, Germany
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128
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Orsucci M, Audiot P, Pommier A, Raynaud C, Ramora B, Zanetto A, Bourguet D, Streiff R. Host specialization involving attraction, avoidance and performance, in two phytophagous moth species. J Evol Biol 2015; 29:114-25. [PMID: 26406269 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2015] [Revised: 09/11/2015] [Accepted: 09/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Host specialization plays a key role in the extreme diversification of phytophagous insects. Whereas proximate mechanisms of specialization have been studied extensively, their consequences for species divergence remain unclear. Preference for, and performance on hosts are thought to be a major source of divergence in phytophagous insects. We assessed these major components of specialization in two moth species, the European corn borer (ECB) and the Adzuki bean borer (ABB), by testing their oviposition behaviour in different conditions (choice or no-choice set-ups) and their performances, by reciprocal transplant at the larval stage on the usual host and an alternative host plant. We demonstrated that both ABB and ECB have a strong preference for their host plants for oviposition, but that relative larval performances on the usual host and an alternative host differed according to the experiment and the trait considered (weight or survival). Finally, we show for the first time that the preference for maize in ECB conceals a strong avoidance of mugwort. The differences in performance, attraction and avoidance between ECB and ABB are discussed in the light of the underlying mechanisms and divergence process.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Orsucci
- CBGP UMR 1062, INRA-IRD-CIRAD-Montpellier SupAgro, Montferrier sur Lez, France.,DGIMI UMR 1333, INRA-Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - P Audiot
- CBGP UMR 1062, INRA-IRD-CIRAD-Montpellier SupAgro, Montferrier sur Lez, France
| | - A Pommier
- CBGP UMR 1062, INRA-IRD-CIRAD-Montpellier SupAgro, Montferrier sur Lez, France
| | - C Raynaud
- MELGUEIL DIASCOPE UE 0398, INRA, Mauguio, France
| | - B Ramora
- MELGUEIL DIASCOPE UE 0398, INRA, Mauguio, France
| | - A Zanetto
- MELGUEIL DIASCOPE UE 0398, INRA, Mauguio, France
| | - D Bourguet
- CBGP UMR 1062, INRA-IRD-CIRAD-Montpellier SupAgro, Montferrier sur Lez, France
| | - R Streiff
- CBGP UMR 1062, INRA-IRD-CIRAD-Montpellier SupAgro, Montferrier sur Lez, France.,DGIMI UMR 1333, INRA-Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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129
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Hoang K, Matzkin LM, Bono JM. Transcriptional variation associated with cactus host plant adaptation in
Drosophila mettleri
populations. Mol Ecol 2015; 24:5186-99. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2015] [Revised: 09/08/2015] [Accepted: 09/11/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kim Hoang
- Biology Department University of Colorado Colorado Springs 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway Colorado Springs CO 80918 USA
| | - Luciano M. Matzkin
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alabama in Huntsville 301 Sparkman Drive Huntsville AL 35899 USA
- HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology 601 Genome Way Huntsville AL 35806 USA
| | - Jeremy M. Bono
- Biology Department University of Colorado Colorado Springs 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway Colorado Springs CO 80918 USA
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130
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Peterson DA, Hardy NB, Morse GE, Stocks IC, Okusu A, Normark BB. Phylogenetic analysis reveals positive correlations between adaptations to diverse hosts in a group of pathogen-like herbivores. Evolution 2015; 69. [PMID: 26374400 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2015] [Accepted: 09/09/2015] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
A jack of all trades can be master of none-this intuitive idea underlies most theoretical models of host-use evolution in plant-feeding insects, yet empirical support for trade-offs in performance on distinct host plants is weak. Trade-offs may influence the long-term evolution of host use while being difficult to detect in extant populations, but host-use evolution may also be driven by adaptations for generalism. Here we used host-use data from insect collection records to parameterize a phylogenetic model of host-use evolution in armored scale insects, a large family of plant-feeding insects with a simple, pathogen-like life history. We found that a model incorporating positive correlations between evolutionary changes in host performance best fit the observed patterns of diaspidid presence and absence on nearly all focal host taxa, suggesting that adaptations to particular hosts also enhance performance on other hosts. In contrast to the widely invoked trade-off model, we advocate a "toolbox" model of host-use evolution in which armored scale insects accumulate a set of independent genetic tools, each of which is under selection for a single function but may be useful on multiple hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Peterson
- Department of Biology and Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts.
| | - Nate B Hardy
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
| | - Geoffrey E Morse
- Department of Biology, University of San Diego, San Diego, California
| | - Ian C Stocks
- Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, Florida
| | - Akiko Okusu
- Department of Biology and Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
| | - Benjamin B Normark
- Department of Biology and Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
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131
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Malcicka M, Agosta SJ, Harvey JA. Multi level ecological fitting: indirect life cycles are not a barrier to host switching and invasion. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:3210-8. [PMID: 25778909 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2014] [Revised: 02/23/2015] [Accepted: 03/11/2015] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Many invasive species are able to escape from coevolved enemies and thus enjoy a competitive advantage over native species. However, during the invasion phase, non-native species must overcome many ecological and/or physiological hurdles before they become established and spread in their new habitats. This may explain why most introduced species either fail to establish or remain as rare interstitials in their new ranges. Studies focusing on invasive species have been based on plants or animals where establishment requires the possession of preadapted traits from their native ranges that enables them to establish and spread in their new habitats. The possession of preadapted traits that facilitate the exploitation of novel resources or to colonize novel habitats is known as 'ecological fitting'. Some species have evolved traits and life histories that reflect highly intimate associations with very specific types of habitats or niches. For these species, their phenological windows are narrow, and thus the ability to colonize non-native habitats requires that a number of conditions need to be met in accordance with their more specialized life histories. Some of the strongest examples of more complex ecological fitting involve invasive parasites that require different animal hosts to complete their life cycles. For instance, the giant liver fluke, Fascioloides magna, is a major parasite of several species of ungulates in North America. The species exhibits a life cycle whereby newly hatched larvae must find suitable intermediate hosts (freshwater snails) and mature larvae, definitive hosts (ungulates). Intermediate and definitive host ranges of F. magna in its native range are low in number, yet this parasite has been successfully introduced into Europe where it has become a parasite of native European snails and deer. We discuss how the ability of these parasites to overcome multiple ecophysiological barriers represents an excellent example of 'multiple-level ecological fitting'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriama Malcicka
- Section Animal Ecology, Department of Ecological Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Salvatore J Agosta
- Center for Environmental Studies and Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 23284, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Jeffrey A Harvey
- Section Animal Ecology, Department of Ecological Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6700 EH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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132
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Messina FJ, Durham SL. Loss of adaptation following reversion suggests trade-offs in host use by a seed beetle. J Evol Biol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- F. J. Messina
- Department of Biology; Utah State University; Logan UT USA
| | - S. L. Durham
- Ecology Center; Utah State University; Logan UT USA
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133
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The Genetics of Resistance to Morinda Fruit Toxin During the Postembryonic Stages in Drosophila sechellia. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2015. [PMID: 26224784 PMCID: PMC4592979 DOI: 10.1534/g3.114.015073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Although a great deal has been learned regarding the genetic changes that give rise to adaptation in bacteria and yeast, an understanding of how new complex traits arise in multicellular organisms is far less complete. Many phytophagous insect species are ecological specialists that have adapted to utilize a single host plant. Drosophila sechellia is a specialist that utilizes the ripe fruit of Morinda citrifolia, which is toxic to its sibling species, D. simulans. Here we apply multiplexed shotgun genotyping and QTL analysis to examine the genetic basis of resistance to M. citrifolia fruit toxin in interspecific hybrids. We identify a locus of large effect on the third chromosome (QTL-IIIsima) in the D. simulans backcross that was not detected in previous analyses. We also identify a highly significant QTL of large effect on the X chromosome, QTL-Xsim. Additional smaller-effect loci were also identified in the D. simulans and D. sechellia backcrosses. We did not detect significant epistasis between loci. Instead, our analysis reveals large and smaller-effect loci that contribute to M. citrifolia resistance additively. The additive effect of each locus suggests that partial resistance to lower levels of M. citrifolia toxin could be passed through introgression from D. sechellia to D. simulans in nature. The identification of the major effect loci, QTL-IIIsima and QTL-Xsim, is an important step toward identifying the molecular basis of adaptation in a multicellular organism.
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134
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Pellissier L. Stability and the competition-dispersal trade-off as drivers of speciation and biodiversity gradients. Front Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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135
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Poisot T, Kéfi S, Morand S, Stanko M, Marquet PA, Hochberg ME. A continuum of specialists and generalists in empirical communities. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0114674. [PMID: 25992798 PMCID: PMC4439032 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2014] [Accepted: 11/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the persistence of specialists and generalists within ecological communities is a topical research question, with far-reaching consequences for the maintenance of functional diversity. Although theoretical studies indicate that restricted conditions may be necessary to achieve co-occurrence of specialists and generalists, analyses of larger empirical (and species-rich) communities reveal the pervasiveness of coexistence. In this paper, we analyze 175 ecological bipartite networks of three interaction types (animal hosts-parasite, plant-herbivore and plant-pollinator), and measure the extent to which these communities are composed of species with different levels of specificity in their biotic interactions. We find a continuum from specialism to generalism. Furthermore, we demonstrate that diversity tends to be greatest in networks with intermediate connectance, and argue this is because of physical constraints in the filling of networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothée Poisot
- Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Marie-Victorin, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal (Québec) H3C 3J7, Canada; Québec Centre for Biodiversity Sciences, Montréal QC, Canada
| | - Sonia Kéfi
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution, Université Montpellier 2, CNRS, IRD, CC 065, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Serge Morand
- CNRS-CIRAD AGIRs, Centre d'Infectiologie Christophe Mérieux du Laos, Vientiane, Lao PDR
| | - Michal Stanko
- Institute of Zoology and Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Lofflerova 10, 04001 Kosice, Slovakia
| | - Pablo A Marquet
- Departamento de Ecologia, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Instituto de Ecologia y Biodiversidad, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile; Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 USA; Laboratorio Internacional en Cambio Global (LINCGlobal) Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Michael E Hochberg
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution, Université Montpellier 2, CNRS, IRD, CC 065, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France; Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 USA; Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, 14193 Berlin, Germany
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136
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Ragland GJ, Almskaar K, Vertacnik KL, Gough HM, Feder JL, Hahn DA, Schwarz D. Differences in performance and transcriptome-wide gene expression associated withRhagoletis(Diptera: Tephritidae) larvae feeding in alternate host fruit environments. Mol Ecol 2015; 24:2759-76. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2014] [Revised: 03/30/2015] [Accepted: 04/01/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory J. Ragland
- Department of Entomology; Kansas State University; 123 W. Waters Hall Manhattan KS 66502 USA
- Environmental Change Initiative; University of Notre Dame; 1400 E. Angela Blvd. South Bend IN 46617 USA
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Notre Dame; 100 Galvin Life Sciences Center; Notre Dame IN 46556 USA
| | - Kristin Almskaar
- Department of Biology; Western Washington University; 510 High Street MS 9160 Bellingham WA 98225 USA
| | - Kim L. Vertacnik
- Department of Biology; Western Washington University; 510 High Street MS 9160 Bellingham WA 98225 USA
| | - Harlan M. Gough
- Department of Biology; Western Washington University; 510 High Street MS 9160 Bellingham WA 98225 USA
| | - Jeffrey L. Feder
- Environmental Change Initiative; University of Notre Dame; 1400 E. Angela Blvd. South Bend IN 46617 USA
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Notre Dame; 100 Galvin Life Sciences Center; Notre Dame IN 46556 USA
| | - Daniel A. Hahn
- Department of Entomology and Nematology; University of Florida; 1881 Natural Area Drive; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Dietmar Schwarz
- Department of Biology; Western Washington University; 510 High Street MS 9160 Bellingham WA 98225 USA
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137
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Simon JC, d'Alencon E, Guy E, Jacquin-Joly E, Jaquiery J, Nouhaud P, Peccoud J, Sugio A, Streiff R. Genomics of adaptation to host-plants in herbivorous insects. Brief Funct Genomics 2015; 14:413-23. [DOI: 10.1093/bfgp/elv015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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138
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Bruce TJA. Interplay between insects and plants: dynamic and complex interactions that have coevolved over millions of years but act in milliseconds. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2015; 66:455-65. [PMID: 25271259 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eru391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
In an environment with changing availability and quality of host plants, phytophagous insects are under selection pressure to find quality hosts. They need to maximize their fitness by locating suitable plants and avoiding unsuitable ones. Thus, they have evolved a finely tuned sensory system, for detection of host cues, and a nervous system, capable of integrating inputs from sensory neurons with a high level of spatio-temporal resolution. Insect responses to cues are not fixed but depend on the context in which they are perceived, the physiological state of the insect, and prior learning experiences. However, there are examples of insects making 'mistakes' and being attracted to poor quality hosts. While insects have evolved ways of finding hosts, plants have been under selection pressure to do precisely the opposite and evade detection or defend themselves when attacked. Once on the plant, insect-associated molecules may trigger or suppress defence depending on whether the plant or the insect is ahead in evolutionary terms. Plant volatile emission is influenced by defence responses induced by insect feeding or oviposition which can attract natural enemies but repel herbivores. Conversely, plant reproductive fitness is increased by attraction of pollinators. Interactions can be altered by other organisms associated with the plant such as other insects, plant pathogens, or mycorrhizal fungi. Plant phenotype is plastic and can be changed by epigenetic factors in adaptation to periods of biotic stress. Space and time play crucial roles in influencing the outcome of interactions between insects and plants.
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139
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Hamm CA, Fordyce JA. Patterns of host plant utilization and diversification in the brush-footed butterflies. Evolution 2015; 69:589-601. [PMID: 25546268 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2014] [Accepted: 12/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Herbivorous insects represent one of the most successful animal radiations known. They occupy a wide range of niches, feed on a great variety of plants, and are species rich; yet the factors that influence their diversification are poorly understood. Host breadth is often cited as a major factor influencing diversification, and, according to the Oscillation Hypothesis, shifts from generalist to specialist feeding states increase the diversification rate for a clade. We explored the relationship between host breadth and diversification within the Nymphalidae (Lepidoptera) and explicitly tested predictions of the Oscillation Hypothesis. We found strong evidence of diversification rate heterogeneity, but no difference in host breadth between clades with a higher diversification rate compared to their sisters. We also found some clades exhibited phylogenetic nonindependence in host breadth and these clades had lower host plant turnover than expected by chance, suggesting host breadth is evolutionarily constrained. Finally, we found that transitions among host breadth categories varied, but the likelihood of reductions in host breadth was greater than that of increases. Our results indicate host breadth is decoupled from diversification rate within the Nymphalidae, and that constraints on diet breadth might play an important role in the evolution of herbivorous insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Hamm
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 5032 Haworth Hall, 1200 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045.
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140
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de Araújo WS, Vieira MC, Lewinsohn TM, Almeida-Neto M. Contrasting effects of land use intensity and exotic host plants on the specialization of interactions in plant-herbivore networks. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0115606. [PMID: 25565141 PMCID: PMC4286214 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Accepted: 11/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Human land use tends to decrease the diversity of native plant species and facilitate the invasion and establishment of exotic ones. Such changes in land use and plant community composition usually have negative impacts on the assemblages of native herbivorous insects. Highly specialized herbivores are expected to be especially sensitive to land use intensification and the presence of exotic plant species because they are neither capable of consuming alternative plant species of the native flora nor exotic plant species. Therefore, higher levels of land use intensity might reduce the proportion of highly specialized herbivores, which ultimately would lead to changes in the specialization of interactions in plant-herbivore networks. This study investigates the community-wide effects of land use intensity on the degree of specialization of 72 plant-herbivore networks, including effects mediated by the increase in the proportion of exotic plant species. Contrary to our expectation, the net effect of land use intensity on network specialization was positive. However, this positive effect of land use intensity was partially canceled by an opposite effect of the proportion of exotic plant species on network specialization. When we analyzed networks composed exclusively of endophagous herbivores separately from those composed exclusively of exophagous herbivores, we found that only endophages showed a consistent change in network specialization at higher land use levels. Altogether, these results indicate that land use intensity is an important ecological driver of network specialization, by way of reducing the local host range of herbivore guilds with highly specialized feeding habits. However, because the effect of land use intensity is offset by an opposite effect owing to the proportion of exotic host species, the net effect of land use in a given herbivore assemblage will likely depend on the extent of the replacement of native host species with exotic ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walter Santos de Araújo
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
- Laboratório de Interações Ecológicas e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
- * E-mail:
| | - Marcos Costa Vieira
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
- Laboratório de Interações Ecológicas e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
| | - Thomas M. Lewinsohn
- Laboratório de Interações Insetos-Plantas, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mário Almeida-Neto
- Laboratório de Interações Ecológicas e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
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141
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Abstract
Understanding variation in resource specialization is important for progress on issues that include coevolution, community assembly, ecosystem processes, and the latitudinal gradient of species richness. Herbivorous insects are useful models for studying resource specialization, and the interaction between plants and herbivorous insects is one of the most common and consequential ecological associations on the planet. However, uncertainty persists regarding fundamental features of herbivore diet breadth, including its relationship to latitude and plant species richness. Here, we use a global dataset to investigate host range for over 7,500 insect herbivore species covering a wide taxonomic breadth and interacting with more than 2,000 species of plants in 165 families. We ask whether relatively specialized and generalized herbivores represent a dichotomy rather than a continuum from few to many host families and species attacked and whether diet breadth changes with increasing plant species richness toward the tropics. Across geographic regions and taxonomic subsets of the data, we find that the distribution of diet breadth is fit well by a discrete, truncated Pareto power law characterized by the predominance of specialized herbivores and a long, thin tail of more generalized species. Both the taxonomic and phylogenetic distributions of diet breadth shift globally with latitude, consistent with a higher frequency of specialized insects in tropical regions. We also find that more diverse lineages of plants support assemblages of relatively more specialized herbivores and that the global distribution of plant diversity contributes to but does not fully explain the latitudinal gradient in insect herbivore specialization.
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142
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Konuma J, Yamamoto S, Sota T. Morphological integration and pleiotropy in the adaptive body shape of the snail-feeding carabid beetleDamaster blaptoides. Mol Ecol 2014; 23:5843-54. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.12976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2013] [Revised: 10/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Junji Konuma
- Department of Zoology; Graduate School of Science; Kyoto University; Kitashirakawa-Oiwake Sakyo Kyoto 606-8502 Japan
- Department of Biology; Faculty of Science; Toho University; 2-2-1 Miyama Funabashi Chiba 274-8510 Japan
| | - Satoshi Yamamoto
- Department of Zoology; Graduate School of Science; Kyoto University; Kitashirakawa-Oiwake Sakyo Kyoto 606-8502 Japan
- Faculty of Human Development; Graduate School of Human Development and Environment; Kobe University; Nada Kobe 657-8501 Japan
| | - Teiji Sota
- Department of Zoology; Graduate School of Science; Kyoto University; Kitashirakawa-Oiwake Sakyo Kyoto 606-8502 Japan
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143
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Darwell CT, Fox KA, Althoff DM. The roles of geography and founder effects in promoting host-associated differentiation in the generalist bogus yucca moth Prodoxus decipiens. J Evol Biol 2014; 27:2706-18. [PMID: 25403722 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2014] [Revised: 10/03/2014] [Accepted: 10/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
There is ample evidence that host shifts in plant-feeding insects have been instrumental in generating the enormous diversity of insects. Changes in host use can cause host-associated differentiation (HAD) among populations that may lead to reproductive isolation and eventual speciation. The importance of geography in facilitating this process remains controversial. We examined the geographic context of HAD in the wide-ranging generalist yucca moth Prodoxus decipiens. Previous work demonstrated HAD among sympatric moth populations feeding on two different Yucca species occurring on the barrier islands of North Carolina, USA. We assessed the genetic structure of P. decipiens across its entire geographic and host range to determine whether HAD is widespread in this generalist herbivore. Population genetic analyses of microsatellite and mtDNA sequence data across the entire range showed genetic structuring with respect to host use and geography. In particular, genetic differentiation was relatively strong between mainland populations and those on the barrier islands of North Carolina. Finer scale analyses, however, among sympatric populations using different host plant species only showed significant clustering based on host use for populations on the barrier islands. Mainland populations did not form population clusters based on host plant use. Reduced genetic diversity in the barrier island populations, especially on the derived host, suggests that founder effects may have been instrumental in facilitating HAD. In general, results suggest that the interplay of local adaptation, geography and demography can determine the tempo of HAD. We argue that future studies should include comprehensive surveys across a wide range of environmental and geographic conditions to elucidate the contribution of various processes to HAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- C T Darwell
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
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144
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Immune benefits from alternative host plants could maintain polyphagy in a phytophagous insect. Oecologia 2014; 177:467-75. [PMID: 25273954 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-3097-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2014] [Accepted: 09/16/2014] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The tritrophic interactions hypothesis, integrating bottom-up (plant-herbivore) and top-down (herbivore-natural enemies) effects, predicts that specialist herbivores should outcompete generalists. However, some phytophagous insects have generalist diets, suggesting that maintenance of a diverse diet may confer certain fitness advantages that outweigh diet specialization. In field conditions, the European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana, feeds on diverse locally rare alternative host plants (AHPs) although grapevines are a highly abundant and predictable food source. The laboratory studies presented here show that survival, growth, and constitutive levels of immune defences (concentration of haemocytes and phenoloxidase activity) of L. botrana larvae were significantly enhanced when they were fed AHPs rather than grape. These results indicated a strong positive effect of AHPs on life history traits and immune defences of L. botrana. Such positive effects of AHPs should be advantageous to the moth under heavy selective pressure by natural enemies and, as a consequence, favour the maintenance of a broad diet preference in this species. We therefore believe that our results account for the role of immunity in the maintenance of polyphagy in phytophagous insects.
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145
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Rossinelli S, Bacher S. Higher establishment success in specialized parasitoids: support for the existence of trade‐offs in the evolution of specialization. Funct Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Rossinelli
- Department of Biology Unit Ecology & Evolution University of Fribourg Chemin du Musée 10 1700 Fribourg Switzerland
| | - Sven Bacher
- Department of Biology Unit Ecology & Evolution University of Fribourg Chemin du Musée 10 1700 Fribourg Switzerland
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146
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Jorge LR, Prado PI, Almeida-Neto M, Lewinsohn TM. An integrated framework to improve the concept of resource specialisation. Ecol Lett 2014; 17:1341-50. [PMID: 25168335 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2014] [Revised: 04/14/2014] [Accepted: 07/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Resource specialisation, although a fundamental component of ecological theory, is employed in disparate ways. Most definitions derive from simple counts of resource species. We build on recent advances in ecophylogenetics and null model analysis to propose a concept of specialisation that comprises affinities among resources as well as their co-occurrence with consumers. In the distance-based specialisation index (DSI), specialisation is measured as relatedness (phylogenetic or otherwise) of resources, scaled by the null expectation of random use of locally available resources. Thus, specialists use significantly clustered sets of resources, whereas generalists use over-dispersed resources. Intermediate species are classed as indiscriminate consumers. The effectiveness of this approach was assessed with differentially restricted null models, applied to a data set of 168 herbivorous insect species and their hosts. Incorporation of plant relatedness and relative abundance greatly improved specialisation measures compared to taxon counts or simpler null models, which overestimate the fraction of specialists, a problem compounded by insufficient sampling effort. This framework disambiguates the concept of specialisation with an explicit measure applicable to any mode of affinity among resource classes, and is also linked to ecological and evolutionary processes. This will enable a more rigorous deployment of ecological specialisation in empirical and theoretical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo R Jorge
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil
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147
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Conchou L, Cabioch L, Rodriguez LJV, Kjellberg F. Daily rhythm of mutualistic pollinator activity and scent emission in Ficus septica: ecological differentiation between co-occurring pollinators and potential consequences for chemical communication and facilitation of host speciation. PLoS One 2014; 9:e103581. [PMID: 25105796 PMCID: PMC4126690 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2014] [Accepted: 07/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The mutualistic interaction between Ficus and their pollinating agaonid wasps constitutes an extreme example of plant-insect co-diversification. Most Ficus species are locally associated with a single specific agaonid wasp species. Specificity is ensured by each fig species emitting a distinctive attractive scent. However, cases of widespread coexistence of two agaonid wasp species on the same Ficus species are documented. Here we document the coexistence of two agaonid wasp species in Ficus septica: one yellow-colored and one black-colored. Our results suggest that their coexistence is facilitated by divergent ecological traits. The black species is longer-lived (a few more hours) and is hence active until later in the afternoon. Some traits of the yellow species must compensate for this advantage for their coexistence to be stable. In addition, we show that the composition of the scent emitted by receptive figs changes between sunrise and noon. The two species may therefore be exposed to somewhat different ranges of receptive fig scent composition and may consequently diverge in the way they perceive and/or respond to scents. Whether such situations may lead to host plant speciation is an open question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Conchou
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier – EPHE, Montpellier, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Léa Cabioch
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier – EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Lillian J. V. Rodriguez
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier – EPHE, Montpellier, France
- Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
| | - Finn Kjellberg
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier – EPHE, Montpellier, France
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148
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Pekár S, Toft S. Trophic specialisation in a predatory group: the case of prey-specialised spiders (Araneae). Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 90:744-61. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2013] [Revised: 06/27/2014] [Accepted: 07/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stano Pekár
- Department of Botany & Zoology; Faculty of Science, Masaryk University; Kotlářská 2 611 37 Brno Czech Republic
| | - Søren Toft
- Department of Bioscience; University of Aarhus; Ny Munkegade 116 DK-8000 Aarhus C Denmark
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149
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Dyer LA, Parchman TL, Jeffrey CS, Richards LA. New dimensions of tropical diversity: an inordinate fondness for insect molecules, taxa, and trophic interactions. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2014; 2:14-19. [PMID: 32846719 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2014.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2014] [Revised: 05/29/2014] [Accepted: 06/09/2014] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Most known insect species are involved in chemically mediated plant-insect multi-trophic interactions, and recent syntheses point to a substantial gap in our understanding of trophic interaction diversity, especially in the tropics. One approach to filling this gap is to examine relationships between genomic, metabolomic, taxonomic, and trophic interaction diversity via quantifying and comparing these dimensions of biodiversity at multiple scales. Innovative approaches to research on the origins and maintenance of tropical insect diversity should merge traditional approaches to natural history and taxonomy with modern measures of interaction diversity, genetic variation, and phytochemical diversity. These approaches will elucidate relationships between plant chemistry, specialization, climate, and different dimensions of biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee A Dyer
- Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557, United States.
| | - Thomas L Parchman
- Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557, United States
| | - Christopher S Jeffrey
- Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557, United States
| | - Lora A Richards
- Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557, United States
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150
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Castillo G, Cruz LL, Tapia-López R, Olmedo-Vicente E, Carmona D, Anaya-Lang AL, Fornoni J, Andraca-Gómez G, Valverde PL, Núñez-Farfán J. Selection mosaic exerted by specialist and generalist herbivores on chemical and physical defense of Datura stramonium. PLoS One 2014; 9:e102478. [PMID: 25051169 PMCID: PMC4106780 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Selection exerted by herbivores is a major force driving the evolution of plant defensive characters such as leaf trichomes or secondary metabolites. However, plant defense expression is highly variable among populations and identifying the sources of this variation remains a major challenge. Plant populations are often distributed across broad geographic ranges and are exposed to different herbivore communities, ranging from generalists (that feed on diverse plant species) to specialists (that feed on a restricted group of plants). We studied eight populations of the plant Datura stramonium usually eaten by specialist or generalist herbivores, in order to examine whether the pattern of phenotypic selection on secondary compounds (atropine and scopolamine) and a physical defense (trichome density) can explain geographic variation in these traits. Following co-evolutionary theory, we evaluated whether a more derived alkaloid (scopolamine) confers higher fitness benefits than its precursor (atropine), and whether this effect differs between specialist and generalist herbivores. Our results showed consistent directional selection in almost all populations and herbivores to reduce the concentration of atropine. The most derived alkaloid (scopolamine) was favored in only one of the populations, which is dominated by a generalist herbivore. In general, the patterns of selection support the existence of a selection mosaic and accounts for the positive correlation observed between atropine concentration and plant damage by herbivores recorded in previous studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Castillo
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, México
| | - Laura L. Cruz
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, México
| | - Rosalinda Tapia-López
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, México
| | - Eika Olmedo-Vicente
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, México
| | - Diego Carmona
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, México
| | - Ana Luisa Anaya-Lang
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, México
| | - Juan Fornoni
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, México
| | - Guadalupe Andraca-Gómez
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, México
| | - Pedro L. Valverde
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, México City, Distrito Federal, México
| | - Juan Núñez-Farfán
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, México
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