Pattern and Process in the Evolution of Hawkmoth-Pollination

夜行飞蛾（HMs）是世界范围内重要的传粉者，尤其是那些花白色、管状、花蜜丰富、香气浓郁、夜间开花的植物。这套花的特征在被子植物中反复进化，在某些情况下，在植物科中也是如此。这种花形态综合症在多大程度上反映了进化谱系的历史趋势，而不是对传粉者的适应？蜜蜂授粉的花通常是从其他管状花（例如那些由蜂鸟授粉的花）进化而来的，还是形态多样化的祖先导致了这种情况？同样，传粉物种的谱系是否会产生替代的繁殖策略，或者它们是进化的死胡同？这些趋势如何影响传粉植物的保护，其中许多是稀有的或生产重要的商业产品？本研究将通过研究几种飞蛾授粉植物及其近亲马铃薯（茄科）、月见草（onagracae）和四花草（Nyctaginaceae）的花广告（颜色、形状、香味）和奖励（花蜜）来解决这些问题。研究人员将使用实验室和实地分析来确定这些特征中哪些是有效吸引飞蛾到花上的，然后在进化背景下使用化学分析和比较统计方法研究这些特征的变化。这些香味和花蜜化学分析将产生特别新颖的结果，因为这些数据在以前的研究中是罕见的。

McDade 9806840 Nocturnal hawkmoths (HMs) are important pollinators worldwide, especially of plants whose flowers are white, tubular, nectar-rich, strongly perfumed and bloom at night. This suite of floral characteristics has evolved repeatedly in Angiosperms and, in some cases, within plant families. To what extent does this floral morphological syndrome reflect historical trends within evolutionary lineages rather than adaptations to pollinators? Do HM-pollinated flowers typically evolve from other tubular flowers (e.g. those pollinated by hummingbirds), or can morphologically diverse ancestors give rise to this condition? Similarly, do lineages with HM-pollinated species give rise to alternative reproductive strategies, or are they evolutionary dead ends? How do these trends affect the conservation of HM-pollinated plants, many of which are rare or produce commercially important products? This research will address these questions by studying floral advertisements (color, shape, fragrance) and rewards (nectar) in several hawkmoth-pollinated plants and their close relatives in the potato (Solanaceae), evening primrose (Onagraceae), and four-oclock (Nyctaginaceae) families. The investigators will use laboratory and field assays to determine which among these traits are effective in attracting hawkmoths to flowers, and then study variation in these traits using chemical analytical and comparative statistical methods within an evolutionary context. These analyses of fragrance and nectar chemistry will yield especially novel results, given the rarity of such data in previous studies.