Ecological Determinants of Local Host Range in a Polyphagous Insect

广义昆虫寄主植物的选择 食草动物是一个复杂的过程， 防御、昆虫行为、昆虫解毒和进化 “制约因素”与最近和过去的生态因素有关， 导致了不同植物物种的死亡率不同 (and因此自然选择使用特定的宿主）。 PI提出了一个新的假设，以帮助解释当地 饲养专业化，有许多宿主选择。 这一概念（称为化性-适宜性假说） 整合非生物和生物环境影响， 在面对植物的多种选择时预测寄主选择， 喂养昆虫 凤蝶是一个模式系统 探索捕食、寄生和 竞争是影响东道国选择的因素。 这项研究将 评估这些选择性压力的相对重要性 与季节性热单位限制和昆虫相比， 进化历史作为特定摄食选择的决定因素 广义昆虫 这些信息可以提高预测性。 以及昆虫进化的能力 对天然植物防御化学物质有抵抗力的种群 和合成杀虫剂。

The selection of local host plant for generalized insect herbivores is a complex process that involves biochemical plant defenses, insect behavior, insect detoxification, and evolutionary "constraints" related to recent and past ecological factors which have resulted in differential mortality on different plant species (and hence natural selection for use of specific hosts). The PIs have proposed a new hypothesis to help explain local feeding specialization where numerous host choices are available. This concept (called the voltinism-suitability hypothesis) integrates abiotic and biotic environmental influences in order to predict host selection in the face of multiple options for plant- feeding insects. Species of Papilio butterflies are a model system to explore ecological processes of predation, parasitism, and competition as factors affecting host choice. This research will assess the relative significance of these selective pressures compared to the seasonal thermal unit restrictions and insect evolutionary history as determinants of specific feeding choice in generalized insects. Such information may improve the predictive capabilities in regard to host shifts, and the evolution of insect populations that are resistant to natural plant defensive chemicals and synthetic pesticides.