Phenotype Matching and Trophic Complexity in the wild Parsnip-parsnip Webworm Interaction

共同进化是相互作用的生物体作为选择剂相互作用的过程。共同进化反应之间的欧洲防风草webworm和其野生欧洲防风草寄主植物显着表现在两个物种的化学。欧防风通过产生一系列称为呋喃香豆素的毒素来保护自己;网虫通过称为细胞色素P450的解毒酶来解除这些毒素。像许多其他入侵杂草和害虫一样，Webworms和防风草是从欧洲引进的;在美国中西部的整个范围内，植物的防御模式与昆虫的解毒模式相匹配，表明了强烈的相互反应。 这种化学匹配可能是人为的引入;在欧洲，这种两种相互作用嵌入在一个更复杂的社区中，捕食者，寄生虫和替代寄主植物可以降低相互作用的强度。这个项目的目的是比较这两个引入物种的共同进化反应的动态，无论是在欧洲，那里的相互作用最初演变，并在美国，这些物种在新的环境中相互作用。 增加社区的复杂性和长度的关联的化学匹配的频率上的影响将被确定，因为将为草食动物和寄主植物不匹配的后果。

Coevolution is the process by which interacting organisms act reciprocally as selective agents on one another. Coevolutionary responses between the parsnip webworm and its wild parsnip hostplant are dramatically manifested in the chemistry of the two species. Parsnips defend themselves by producing an array of toxins called furanocoumarins; webworms disarm these toxins with detoxification enzymes called cytochrome P450s. Webworms and parsnips were, like many other invasive weeds and insect pests, introduced from Europe; throughout their range in the midwestern U.S., the defense profile of the plants matches the detoxification profile of the insect, suggesting intense reciprocal responses. This chemical matching may be an artifact of introduction; in Europe, this two-species interaction is embedded in a more complex community, with predators, parasites, and alternate hostplants that could reduce the intensity of the interaction. This project is aimed at comparing the dynamics of coevolutionary responses in these two introduced species, both in Europe, where the interaction originally evolved, and in the U.S., where these species have been interacting in a novel environment. The effects of increasing community complexity and length of association on the frequency of chemical matching will be determined, as will the consequences of mismatching for both the herbivore and the hostplant.