RUI: Three-Trophic Level Interactions in an Aquatic Macrophyte Hybrid Zone

本研究将调查一个三营养级 香蒲混合区的相互作用。三个层次 相互作用包括：香蒲和杂交，食草动物， 吃香蒲的种子，寄生虫感染 以种子为食的食草动物为了研究食草动物在不同的 三种类型的香蒲，田间试验将检查 这些香蒲在一个广阔的地理范围内 范围杂交和基因渗入在 草食动物和寄生虫的影响率将得到解决 用不同品种的盆栽植物进行移植研究。 食草动物排除和添加实验将检查1） 杂交香蒲上的草食性减少的模式是否可以 归因于植物属性或寄生虫，2）程度 一种以种子为食的食草动物 另一个人的存在。 %%% 尽管植物的杂交导致了30-70%的 植物物种内部和物种之间的遗传变异， 关于发生在 杂交方法通过关注食草动物的模式 植食性天敌的相互作用，植物的动态性质， 将阐明混合区。这项研究将使 对理解杂交作用的重要贡献 和控制植物种群中的天敌。

This research will investigate a three trophic level interaction in a hybrid zone of cattails. The three levels of interactions include: the cattails and the hybrid, herbivores that eat the seeds of the cattails, and parasites that infect the seed-eating herbivores. To study how herbivory varies among the three types of cattails, field experiments will examine the herbivore loads sustained by these cattails over a broad geographic range. The role that hybridization and introgression play in influencing rates of herbivory and parasitoidism will be addressed with a transplant study using potted plants of various crosses. Herbivore exclusion and addition experiments will examine 1) whether the pattern of reduced herbivory on the hybrid cattails can be attributed to plant properties or parasites, 2) the degree of dependence that one species of seed eating herbivore has on the presence of another. %%% ALthough hybridization of plants has been responsible for 30-70% of the genetic variation in and among plant species, little is known about the three-way interactions that occur in zones of hybridization. By focussing on the patterns of herbivory and the herbivore-natural enemy interactions, the dynamic nature of plant hybrid zones will be elucidated. This research will make an important contribution to understanding the role of hybridization and control of natural enemies in plant populations.