Dissertation Research: Coadaptation of a Nursery Pollinator and its Dioecious Host Plant

本研究将调查来自Hadena属（lychnis蛾）的飞蛾与开花植物Silene latifolia（白色campion）的两个不同种群之间的相互作用，Silene latifolia（白色campion）是一种已建立的研究物种，也已在美国归化。拉丁美洲的种群在花、营养和生活史特征上差异很大，这可能是对不同环境的适应。飞蛾是苗圃传粉者：成年飞蛾授粉，但幼虫寄生在果实上。相互作用包括蛾的偏好，幼虫的表现，和水果损害将在自然的欧洲栖息地进行检查。这项研究将揭示在不同的环境中，这些苗圃传粉者和寄主植物物种之间的共生和寄生之间的平衡是否存在差异。这是一个跨学科的研究项目，结合生态学，进化和行为来调查自然种群之间复杂的生物相互作用的分歧。该项目将为年轻的研究生和本科生研究人员提供传粉者生物学和生态/进化领域技术的广泛培训。这些结果也将为植物-传粉者相互作用的区域差异提供经验证据。此外，这项工作将建议保护工作是否应该考虑生境特异性差异，以管理其他传粉媒介物种。

This study will investigate interactions between moths from the genus Hadena (the lychnis moth) and two divergent populations of the flowering plant species Silene latifolia (the white campion), an established research species that is also naturalized in the US. The S. latifolia populations vary extensively in floral, vegetative, and life-history traits, which are likely adaptations to dissimilar environments. The moths are nursery pollinators: adult moths pollinate, but the larvae parasitize fruit. Interactions including moth preferences, larval performance, and fruit damage will be examined in the natural European habitat. This research will suggest whether the balance between mutualism and parasitism varies among distinct environments with these nursery-pollinator and host-plant species. This is an interdisciplinary research project that combines ecology, evolution, and behavior to investigate the divergence of intricate biological interactions between natural populations. This project will offer extensive training in pollinator biology and ecological/evolutionary field techniques for young graduate and undergraduate researchers. These results will also provide empirical evidence of regional variation in plant-pollinator interactions. Additionally, this work will suggest whether conservation efforts should consider habitat-specific differences in the management of other pollinator species.