Feeding ecology of outbreak insect species

我的研究计划的长期目标是更好地了解食物及其化学成分对昆虫食叶类适应性和种群动态的作用，并确定食物质量变化对树木和昆虫食叶类之间的共同进化模式的影响由于气候变化和人类对森林生态系统的操纵，在快速变化的环境中。 在目前的建议所涵盖的期间，我将使用东部云杉芽虫香脂冷杉和黑云杉作为模型系统，我将确定的影响，不仅在喂养期间，而且在其生命周期的其余部分，包括在冬季滞育的营养物质和化感物质对昆虫的性能变化。此外，我将连续四代继续这项研究。云杉芽虫的队列喂养人工低和高营养质量的食物，以及昆虫的队列喂养高营养质量的树叶，从落叶树（低密度的芽虫种群的叶子特征）和以前落叶树的低营养质量的叶子（高密度的夜蛾种群的叶子特征）将在连续四代的相互转移实验设计和各种冬季条件下进行。 相互转移实验的方法将允许检测局部适应食品变质分区遗传和遗传的环境成分的后代表型。 遗传环境效应（亲本效应）是指除核基因外，来自亲本任一方的表型成分。 虽然环境效应是遗传的（像金钱一样），但它们不是遗传的。通过放置滞育后代沿着纬度梯度和生长室与各种冬季温度制度，我将能够探讨气候变化的背景下，父母的食物质量和后代的冬季条件之间的相互作用。

The long term objective of my research program is to better understand the role of food and its chemical composition on insect defoliator fitness and population dynamics and to determine the impacts of food quality variations on the co-evolution patterns between trees and insect defoliators in the context of rapid changing environments due to climatic change and human manipulation of forest ecosystems. During the period covered by the current proposal, I will use eastern spruce budworm on balsam fir and black spruce as a model system and I will determine the impact of variations in nutrients and allelochemicals on insect performance not only during the feeding period but also during the rest of its life cycle, including during winter diapause. In addition, I will continue the study over four successive generations. Cohorts of spruce budworm fed artificial low and high nutritive quality food as well as cohorts of insects fed high nutritive quality foliage from undefoliated trees (foliage characteristic of low density budworm populations) and low nutritive quality foliage from previously defoliated trees (foliage characteristic of high density budworm populations) will be followed during four successive generations in a reciprocal transfer experimental design and under various winter conditions. The reciprocal transfer experiment approach will allow detection of local adaptation to food deterioration by partitioning genetic and inherited environmental components of offspring phenotype. Inherited environmental effects (parental effect) are those components of the phenotype that are derived from either parent, apart from nuclear genes. Although environmental effects are inherited (like money) they are not heritable. By placing diapausing progeny along a latitudinal gradient and in growth chambers with various winter temperature regimes, I will be able to explore the interactions between parental food quality and progeny winter conditions within the context of climatic changes.