Collaborative Research: Novel Trophic Interactions Determined by Phytochemistry, Pathogen Infection, and Parasitoids

在一个快速变化的环境中，了解物种相互作用的复杂性的价值怎么强调都不为过。这包括在寄生虫和新宿主之间形成联系。这项研究调查了一种感染蝴蝶的病毒与最近采用的一种外来寄主植物之间的相互作用。这种新发现的病毒对蝴蝶种群产生了未知的后果。然而，先前的研究表明，寄主植物的化学物质可能具有治疗作用。病毒感染对巴尔的摩跳斑蝶个体和种群的结果如何取决于选择本地或外来寄主植物？研究人员还将研究攻击毛虫的寄生蜂。寄生蜂可能会改变蝴蝶、寄主植物和病毒之间的整套相互作用。通过了解人类改变的环境中的疾病动态，可以减轻对物种的有害影响。这个项目包括一个关于病毒多样性的博物馆展览，一个关于昆虫-病毒生态学的研讨会，以及包括本科生和研究生的研究。所有消费者都使用其环境中有机资源的一部分。了解特定消费者使用了哪些资源，以及这些资源的局限性，既是生态科学的基础问题，也是理解全球环境快速变化的重要问题。食草性昆虫是理解食物生态位广度的一般理论的核心。相关资源(寄主植物)是离散的，在实验上是可驯化的，而草食性昆虫是陆地生态系统功能的关键。食物广度的一个相对较少被研究的因素是寄主扩张的过程，当新的寄主植物被采用到昆虫食草动物的食物中时。该项目利用巴尔的摩棋盘蝶和外来窄叶车前草之间最近形成的相互作用，建立了大型寄生虫在一种新植物物种上的种群动态数学模型。预测将通过实验室和中微体实验得到验证，这些实验包括感染蝴蝶的“敌人”，一种自然发生的致病病毒和寄生蜂，这两种病毒都会攻击蝴蝶的毛虫。这个项目的首要问题是：我们能通过与本地和外来寄主植物上的敌人的相互作用来预测蝴蝶种群的持久性吗？在解决这个更大的问题的同时，这项研究将通过调查病原体、病毒传播和寄主植物化学介导的毛虫存活的剂量依赖效应来提高我们对病毒和寄生虫生态学的经验理解。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In a rapidly changing environment, the value of understanding the complexity of species interactions cannot be overstated. This includes the formation of associations between parasites and novel hosts. This research investigates the interaction between a virus that infects butterflies on both their native food plant, or 'hostplant', and a recently adopted exotic hostplant. This newly discovered virus has unknown consequences for populations of butterflies. However, prior research suggests that the chemistry of the hostplants may have therapeutic effects. How does the outcome of viral infection on individuals and populations of Baltimore checkerspot butterflies depend on the choice of a native or exotic hostplant? The researchers also will study parasitic wasps that attack the caterpillars. Parasitic wasps may alter the entire set of interactions between the butterflies, hostplants and the virus. By understanding disease dynamics within human-altered environments, detrimental impacts on species can be mitigated. This project includes a museum exhibit on the diversity of viruses, a symposium on insect-virus ecology, and the inclusion of undergraduate and graduate student research. All consumers use a subset of the organic resources in their environment. Understanding which resources are used by a particular consumer, and the limitations of those resources, are issues that are both foundational to the ecological sciences and important for understanding rapid global environmental change. Herbivorous insects are central to general theory to understand dietary niche breadth. The relevant resources (hostplants) are discrete and experimentally tractable, and herbivorous insects are key to terrestrial ecosystem function. A relatively understudied element of dietary breadth is the process of host expansion, when new hostplants are adopted into the diet of an insect herbivore. This project takes advantage of a recently formed interaction between the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas phaeton, Nymphalidae) and the exotic narrow-leaved plantain (Plantago lanceolata, Plantaginaceae) to develop mathematical models for macroparasite population dynamics on a novel plant species. Predictions will be tested using laboratory and mesocosm experiments that include infection with butterfly 'enemies', a naturally-occurring pathogenic virus and parasitoid wasp, both of which attack caterpillars of the butterfly. The overarching question of this project is: Can we predict persistence of the butterfly populations from the interactions with enemies on native and exotic hostplants? While addressing this larger question, the study will improve our empirical understanding of virus and parasite ecology by investigating dose dependent effects of the pathogen, virus transmission, and caterpillar survival mediated by hostplant chemistry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.