Herbivory in Oak Hybrid Zones: General Patterns, Genetic Relationships, and Mechanisms

这项研究将检查寄主杂交区的草食模式。提出了三个相关项目，以阐明五倍子-树叶-矿工-橡树系统：1)橡树杂交带的遗传结构，2)各种杂交组合中食草动物密度和物种多样性的格局，(3)栎树杂交带内寄主类群间草食动物负载差异的机制。提出了相关的、实验的和分子遗传学相结合的方法。相关分析和实验分析被设计用来检验关于食草动物模式的三个相互排斥的假设主办混合区。遗传分析将在植物-昆虫生态学中引入一种新的技术--随机扩增多态性DNA，它将区分三种相互竞争的导入杂交模式和寄主对寄生虫的敏感性。这项工作对杂交和转基因作物的引进具有重要意义，以及保护受到种间杂交威胁的濒危物种。

The research will examine patterns of herbivory in host hybrid zones. Three related projects are proposed that will elucidate for a gall wasp-leaf miner-oak system: 1) the genetic structure of oak hybrid zones, 2) patterns of herbivore density and species diversity in a variety of hybrid combinations, and 3) mechanisms responsible for variation in herbivore loads between host taxa within oak hybrid zones. A combination of correlative, experimental, and molecular genetic approaches are proposed. The correlative and experimental analyses are designed to test three mutually exclusive hypotheses regarding patterns of herbivory in host hybrid zones. The genetic analysis will introduce a new technique to plant-insect ecology, RAPD (for Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA), that will distinguish among three competing models of introgressive hybridization and host susceptibility to parasites. The work has important implications for the introduction of hybrid and genetically engineered agricultural crops, and for the conservation of endangered species threatened by interspecific hybridization.