Dissertation Research: Linking Anti-parasitism Mechanisms and Population Dynamics

这项研究旨在了解反捕食者防御系统进化的生态机制，并将这些机制与种群动态联系起来。这项工作明确地研究了猎物(或寄主)的特征如何影响捕食(或寄生)序列的两个特定阶段。它探索了寄主物种如何避免视觉检测，以及一旦检测到个人(或补丁)，它如何逃避攻击和捕获。最重要的问题是：在这些阶段之间是否存在整体效率的权衡？在Tupelo潜叶蛾种群中发现的模式表明，确实存在权衡。然而，了解选择的来源(S)和选择(或调控)的强度对于理解这种权衡在进化中的作用至关重要。微小膜翅目黄蜂的寄生是潜叶潜蝇和其他小型昆虫的最重要的死亡来源，而小膜翅目黄蜂大多体型微小且不显眼。因此，将对寄主进行分子调查，以准确地检测寄生。分子调查的预期结果将决定：(1)从观察和实验工作中产生的寄生模式的准确性，以及(2)估计的可检测性和攻击功能是否与所有寄生物种或仅与某些寄生物种相关。拟议工作的结果和培训将有助于为未来的研究建立一个平台，调查诸如信号进化、共同进化和宿主专门化等主题，并将直接应用于更有效的生物学计划。这些领域很少被整合，拟议的研究应该会产生重大的新见解。

The research is aimed at understanding the ecological mechanisms involved in the evolution of anti-predator defenses, and to link these mechanisms with population dynamics. This work explicitly investigates how prey (or host) traits affect two specific stages of a predation (or parasitism) sequence. It explores how a host species avoids visual detection, and how it evades attack and capture once an individual (or patch) has been detected. The overarching question is: Is there is a trade-off in overall efficiency between these stages? Patterns found in a population of the Tupelo leafminer, Antispila nysaefoliella, suggest that there is indeed a trade-off. However, knowing the source(s) and intensity of selection (or regulation) is essential in understanding the role of this trade-off in evolution. The most important mortality source of leafminers and other small insects is parasitism by micro-hymenopteran wasps, most of which are minute and inconspicuous. Therefore, a molecular survey of hosts will be conducted to accurately detect parasitism.The expected results of a molecular survey will determine: (1) the accuracy of the patterns of parasitism that have been generated from observational and experimental work, and (2) if the estimated detectability and attack functions are relevant for all parasitoid species or just some. Results and training from the proposed work will help to establish a platform for future research investigating topics such as signal evolution, coevolution, and host specialization, and will have direct application to more effective biological programs. These fields have rarely been integrated, and the proposed research should yield significant new insights.