Comparative Ecology of Uncommon and Rare Galling and Free-Feeding Sawflies

为了增进人们对不常见和罕见的食草昆虫的了解，将在亚利桑那州里奥德弗莱格分水岭定义的景观中研究8种叶蜂。这些叶蜂是特别有价值的研究对象，因为它们都留下了可以发现和记录的特征性损害，甚至可以通过它们的损害发现隐藏的物种。这些物种在空间和时间上的分布和丰度将在自然种群中进行为期三年的景观，宿主植物种群和宿主个体尺度的研究。实验将检查女性叶蜂行为，以确定网站的偏好（植物种类，年龄和生长速度）及其对幼虫的性能的影响。这些实验将提供机械解释叶蜂在该领域的分布和丰富的程度，自下而上的力量，通过植物质量，女性的行为和幼虫的生存，是重要的。食肉动物对叶蜂分布和丰度的自上而下的影响也将在自然种群和实验中进行研究。 通过对罕见和稀有食草昆虫的研究，PI可以开发出一种理论，解释为什么这些叶蜂等物种仍然不常见，并最终了解为什么一些食草昆虫物种变得非常丰富，并爆发达到害虫地位的物种。

To contribute to the knowledge on uncommon and rare insect herbivores, which are poorly understood, eight species of sawflies will be studies in a landscape defined by the watershed of Rio de Flag, Arizona. These sawflies are particularly valuable subjects for study because they all leave characteristic damage which can be found and recorded, and even cryptic species can be discovered by their damage. The distribution and abundance of these species in space and time will be studied for three years in natural populations on scales of the landscape, host plant populations, and host individuals. Experiments will examine female sawfly behavior to determine site preference (plant species, age, and growth rate) and its impact on larval performance. These experiments will provide mechanistic explanation for the distribution and abundance of sawflies in the field to the extent that the bottom-up forces through plant quality, to female behavior and larval survival, are important. Top-down effects from carnivores on the distribution and abundance of sawflies will also be examined in natural populations and experiments. %%% With the understanding gained from this research on uncommon and rare insect herbivores, the PI can develop a theory on why species such as these sawflies remain uncommon, and ultimately to gain understanding on why some insect herbivore species become very abundance and outbreak species that reach the status of pests.