Ecological Determinants of Local Host Range in a Polyphagous Insect

植物寄主的选择是一个复杂的过程，涉及植物的生化防御、昆虫的行为、昆虫的解毒以及与最近和过去的生态因素有关的进化“约束”，这些因素导致了不同植物物种的不同死亡率（因此是对特定寄主的自然选择）。pi提出了一个新的假设，以帮助解释有许多宿主选择的地方喂养专业化。这个概念（称为voltinism-适用性假说）整合了非生物和生物环境的影响，以便在面对多种选择时预测植物食性昆虫的寄主选择。蝶种是一个探索捕食、寄生和竞争作为影响寄主选择因素的生态过程的模型系统。本研究将评估这些选择压力与季节热单位限制和昆虫进化史作为广义昆虫特定摄食选择决定因素的相对意义。这些信息可以提高寄主转移的预测能力，以及昆虫种群对天然植物防御化学品和合成农药的抗性进化。

The selection of local host plant for generalized insect herbivores is a complex process that involves biochemical plant defenses, insect behavior, insect detoxification, and evolutionary "constraints" related to recent and past ecological factors which have resulted in differential mortality on different plant species (and hence natural selection for use of specific hosts). The PIs have proposed a new hypothesis to help explain local feeding specialization where numerous host choices are available. This concept (called the voltinism-suitability hypothesis) integrates abiotic and biotic environmental influences in order to predict host selection in the face of multiple options for plant- feeding insects. Species of Papilio butterflies are a model system to explore ecological processes of predation, parasitism, and competition as factors affecting host choice. This research will assess the relative significance of these selective pressures compared to the seasonal thermal unit restrictions and insect evolutionary history as determinants of specific feeding choice in generalized insects. Such information may improve the predictive capabilities in regard to host shifts, and the evolution of insect populations that are resistant to natural plant defensive chemicals and synthetic pesticides.