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

协同进化是相互作用的有机体相互作用，相互选择的过程。防风草虫和野生防风草属寄主植物之间的共同进化反应在这两个物种的化学成分中表现得非常明显。防风草通过产生一系列名为呋喃香豆素的毒素来自卫；网虫用名为细胞色素P450的解毒酶来解除这些毒素的武装。像许多其他入侵的杂草和害虫一样，网虫和防风草也是从欧洲传入的；在美国中西部的整个范围内，这些植物的防御特征与昆虫的解毒特征相匹配，这表明了强烈的互惠反应。这种化学匹配可能是引入的产物；在欧洲，这种两个物种的相互作用嵌入了一个更复杂的群落，有捕食者、寄生虫和交替的寄主植物，这可能会降低相互作用的强度。该项目旨在比较这两个引入物种的共同进化反应的动态，无论是在最初相互作用进化的欧洲，还是在美国，这些物种一直在一个新的环境中相互作用。将确定群落复杂性和联合长度增加对化学匹配频率的影响，以及不匹配对食草动物和寄主植物的后果。

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.