Effects of Geographic Distance, Landscape Features and Host Adaptations on Genetic Differentiation Among Populations of a Checkerspot Butterfly: An Integrative Approach

研究人员建议结合使用行为、生态和遗传技术来了解一种蝴蝶（Euphydryas editha）种群间遗传分化的发展。这项研究的一个结果将是分析这些蝴蝶在不同类型栖息地之间过去和现在的运动模式。研究人员将询问昆虫在栖息地之间的移动是否以及在多大程度上取决于这些栖息地之间的距离、中间地形的景观性质以及昆虫对特定寄主植物物种的适应。植食性昆虫具有复杂的行为机制来选择它们的寄主，也就是它们赖以为生的植物。了解这些机制的基本生物学原理在一些情况下是很重要的。它帮助人类跟踪和预测昆虫所经历的饮食变化，这些变化涉及无害昆虫向作物害虫的转变。它还有助于评估和控制濒危昆虫物种的栖息地质量。这是因为被引入恢复栖息地的昆虫如果对现有的植物没有足够的吸引力，就会离开。拟议的工作包括与联邦濒危亚种密切相关的种群，并将评估这些昆虫的食物偏好如何影响栖息地恢复和保护计划。

The investigators propose to use a combination of behavioral, ecological and genetic techniques to understand the development of genetic differentiation among populations of a butterfly species, Euphydryas editha. One outcome of this study will be an analysis of past and current movement patterns of these butterflies among habitats of different types. The investigators will ask whether and to what extent the movements of insects among habitats depend on the distance between those habitats, the nature of the landscape in the intervening terrain, and the adaptations of the insects to particular host plant species.Plant-feeding insects possess sophisticated behavioral mechanisms for choosing their hosts, that is, the plants on which they feed. Understanding of the basic biology of these mechanisms is important in several contexts. It assists humans in tracking and predicting the changes of diet that insects undergo, changes that are involved in the transformation of innocuous insects to crop pests. It also helps in assessment and manipulation of the quality of habitats for endangered insect species. This is because insects that are introduced to a restored habitat will leave if they are not sufficiently attracted to the plants that are present. The proposed work includes populations that are closely related to a federally endangered sub-species, and will assess how the food preferences of these insects should influence plans for habitat restoration and conservation.