Evolution of Host Plant Use by Hawaiian Planthoppers

9981513罗德里克当生物体殖民或入侵新的栖息地时，它们的生物学会发生巨大的变化。 这个过程被称为适应，当生物有机体面对新环境时，它往往是生物有机体成功的关键。 当进入新的栖息地时，食草昆虫可以改变的一种方式是转向以新的和不同类型的植物为食。 这种变化的一个突出例子是在一组称为飞虱的食汁液昆虫中发现的。 世界上大多数的飞燕草都专门以草和莎草（都是单子叶植物）为食。 这一组中的稻飞虱物种包括水稻和玉米的显著害虫。 在太平洋岛屿上殖民后，那里的原生草和莎草相对较少，这些昆虫已经进化到以各种各样的宿主植物为食。 事实上，仅在夏威夷，不同种类的稻飞虱就以总共28个植物科的植物为食，其中大部分是双子叶植物。 在其他太平洋群岛上也发现了类似的模式，包括社会群岛和法属波利尼西亚的马克萨斯群岛。该项目将利用DNA序列的信息来了解这些昆虫转换宿主所必须发生的变化模式。 此外，研究结果将揭示所谓的适应性辐射的昆虫，现在已经多样化的音乐会与这些主机在夏威夷和太平洋岛屿。 该项目利用了夏威夷等太平洋群岛地质历史提供的历史时间“快照”。 该研究还侧重于该地区多样但研究较少的特有陆生动物群，作为这项研究的一部分，将对一名研究生和一名博士后研究员进行这类昆虫（飞虱科）的生物学和系统学培训，特别是对具有重大经济和科学意义的分类学群体-飞虱族进行培训。

9981513RoderickWhen organisms colonize or invade new habitats, their biology can change in dramatic ways. This process, called adaptation, is often critical to the success of biological organisms when faced with new environments. One way that plant-feeding insects can change when entering new habitats is to switch to feeding on new and different types of plants. A striking example of this type of change is seen in a group of sap-feeding insects called planthoppers in the family Delphacidae. Most delphacids world-wide are specialized to feed solely on grasses and sedges (both monocots). Planthopper species in this group include notable pests of rice and maize. After colonizing the islands of the Pacific, where there are relatively few native grasses and sedges, these insects have evolved to feed on an amazing variety of host plants. In fact, different species of planthoppers now feed on plants in a total of 28 plant families, mostly dicots, in Hawaii alone. Similar patterns are found on other Pacific archipelagos, including the Society Islands and the Marquesas in French Polynesia.This project will use information from DNA sequences to understand the pattern of changes that must have taken place for these insects to switch hosts. In addition, the results will shed light on the so-called adaptive radiation of insects which have now diversified in concert with these hosts within Hawaii and the insular Pacific. The project takes advantage of the historical temporal "snapshots" provided by the geological history of Pacific archipelagos such as Hawaii. The research also focuses on the diverse, yet little studied, endemic terrestrial fauna of this region.As part of this research, a graduate student and a postdoctoral fellow will be trained in the biology and systematics of this group of insects (the Delphacidae) and in particular, the tribe Delphacini, a taxonomic group of both great economic and scientific importance.