Dissertation Research: Effects of Host Plant Chemistry on the Evolution of an Insect Herbivore

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Shaffer and Rank will use a willow leaf beetle (Chrysomela aenicollis) to study the effects of local environment conditions on the costs and benefits of animal social behavior. These beetles feed on high elevation willows in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Eastern California. The larvae use a chemical, salicin, from the willows to protect themselves from potential predators. Additionally, these beetles cluster their eggs and feed in groups as larvae, which probably makes the chemical defense more effective. They will study how the costs and benefits of larval social behavior depend on the leaf chemistry of their host plants. To do this, they will conduct experiments in nature measuring larval and egg survivorship among groups of different sizes on willows with different amounts of salicin in the leaves. They will also use a biochemical technique, gel electrophoresis, to study the evolutionary relationships between beetle populations in several mountain canyons. Their results should contribute substantially to the field of plant-herbivore interaction.