Structure and Dynamics of Herbivore Communities in Oak Hybrid Zones

本研究将为昆虫-植物理论的发展做出贡献 通过研究昆虫对寄主植物的攻击模式 混合区 成瘿蜂群落与采叶 蛾将在墨西哥的15个橡树杂交区进行检查， 美国西南部。 杂交树昆虫密度 将与非杂交树上的那些进行比较。 这项研究将 阐明影响植物杂种虫害因素 区界限 需要审查的因素包括： 杂种区，双亲栎属之间的分类关系 种之间的形态关系 物种 机械假说将被制定，解释 杂交种与非杂交种之间的昆虫攻击差异 植物 将获得重要的见解昆虫动物群如何 在寄主植物上积累。 这些想法将有助于 了解混合区是否充当食草动物的水槽， 这是植物与食草动物相互作用理论中的一个重要问题。 从 从应用的角度来看，研究结果将承担 直接针对食草动物的反应的关键问题， 转基因作物和杂交区， 可能靠近农业区。

This research will contribute to the theory of insect-plant interactions by examining patterns of insect attack in host plant hybrid zones. Communities of gall-forming wasps and leaf-mining moths will be examined in 15 oak hybrid zones in Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Densities of insects on hybrid trees will be compared to those on non-hybrid trees. The research will elucidate factors that influence insect attack in plant hybrid zones. Factors to be examined include: geographic structure of hybrid zones, taxonomic relationships between parental oak species, and morphological relationships between parental oak species. Mechanistic hypotheses will be formulated that explain differences in insect attack between hybrid and non-hybrid plants. Important insights will be gained into how insect faunas accrue on host plants. These ideas will contribute to understanding whether hybrid zones act as a sink for herbivores, an important issue in plant-herbivore interaction theory. From an applied perspective, results of the research will bear directly on key questions regarding the response of herbivorous insects to genetically altered crop plants and hybrid zones which may be near agricultural areas.