Geographic Mosaics in Diversifying Plant-Insect Interactions

该奖项的工作将评估共同进化过程如何在大地理尺度上塑造昆虫和植物之间的相互作用。植物与其食草动物和传粉者之间的许多相互作用发生在多个生态区。这些相互作用在不同的地区以不同的方式发展，但它们是通过个体在人群中的流动联系在一起的。该奖项的目的是了解这些相互作用的大规模结构是如何在这种地理上的共同进化中发展的。这些结果将有助于我们理解生物多样性是如何在大地理尺度上组织起来的，以及物种之间的相互作用如何在不断变化的世界中持续存在。因此，研究结果将有助于我们了解如何通过区域和大陆尺度的努力来最好地保护地球的生物多样性。该研究将使用灰蛾（Greya politella）和它的主要寄主植物小花石蚜（Lithophragma parviflorum）。这些物种分布在美国落基山脉到加利福尼亚沿海地区。这是北美西部植物和昆虫之间分布最广泛的相互作用之一。从过去的工作中已经知道，物种的特征、它们之间相互作用的生态结果以及种群的遗传结构会因地区而异。该物种也可以很容易地在田间、实验室和温室中进行操作。因此，这种相互作用为共同进化的地理马赛克分析提供了一个有用的模型。

Work on this award will evaluate how the process of coevolution shapes interactions between insects and plants over large geographic scales. Many interactions between plants and their herbivores and pollinators occur across multiple ecoregions. These interactions evolve in different ways in different regions, but they are connected by movement of individuals among populations. The purpose of this award is to understand how the large-scale structure of these interactions develops amid this geographic mosaic of coevolution. The results will contribute to our understanding of how biodiversity is organized over large geographic scales, and how interactions between species may persist in a constantly changing world. The results will therefore contribute to our understanding of how best to conserve the earth's biodiversity through efforts at regional and continental scales.The research will use the moth Greya politella and its major hostplant Lithophragma parviflorum. These species range from the U.S. Rockies to coastal California. This is one of the most widely-distributed interactions between plants and insects in western North America. The traits of the species, the ecological outcomes of the interaction between them, and the genetic structure of the populations are already known from past work to vary regionally. The species can also be easily manipulated in the field, laboratory, and greenhouse. This interaction therefore provides a useful model for analyses of the geographic mosaic of coevolution.