Hybrid Cottonwood-Herbivore Interactions: Integration of Biogeographic and Synthetic Population Studies

9726648 Whitham生物学家长期以来一直认为杂交是植物进化的主要推动力。这种事件如何影响一个物种的生态表现的机制在很大程度上还没有被探索。这项研究将考虑杂交产生的变异如何影响生态群落的不同成员。这项研究将集中在杨树上，这是美国西部河岸生境中的重要树种，以杂交频繁而闻名。该项目的目标之一是发现野生杂交种群个体的遗传差异是否决定了无脊椎动物草食动物的分布。另一个是确定杂交带的大小是否会影响草食动物的密度。此外，还将进行普通花园研究，以确定影响杂交种抗性和对草食动物敏感性的潜在机制。这些后面的实验将使研究人员能够确定与草食动物抗性有关的特征的遗传性。这项研究的结果可能会为杂交产生的遗传变异如何对群落水平的过程做出贡献提供新的见解。S

9726648 Whitham Biologists have long considered hybridization to be a major impetus to plant evolution. Mechanisms of how such events influence the ecological performance of a species are largely unexplored. This research will consider how variation created by hybridization affects diverse members of an ecological community. The research will focus on cottonwoods (Populus spp.), which are important trees in riparian habitats of the western US and known to hybridize frequently. One of the goals of this project is to discover whether or not the genetic differences in individuals of hybrid populations in the wild determine the distribution of invertebrate herbivores. Another is to determine if hybrid zone size affects the concentration of herbivores. In addition, common-garden studies will be conducted to determine the underlying mechanisms that affect hybrid resistance and susceptibility to herbivores. These latter experiments will allow the investigators to determine the heritability of traits involved in herbivore resistance. The outcome of this research is likely to provide new insights into how genetic variation resulting from hybridization contributes to community level processes. s