Influence of the host plant on the ecology of forest insect herbivores

我的长期研究目标是：i)了解影响以树木和农作物为食的昆虫的丰度和分布的过程，特别是它们所赖以生存的植物的作用；ii)将这些信息用于有害生物管理项目，减少我们对农药的需求。虽然寄主植物通常被认为在以硬木为食的昆虫种群动态中起主要作用，但以往大多数关于针叶树上的剥落昆虫的研究都强调了天敌（即寄生虫、捕食者和疾病）的作用。我将进行实地调查和操控性实地实验，以确定植物特性和天敌对小白云杉和黑云杉、大铁杉和桦树的昆虫取食丰度和性能的独立和相互作用影响。我的研究的基本假设是，这些因素在单个植物内部的变化与植物之间的变化一样大，因此，植物内部的变化对昆虫的影响与植物之间的变化一样大。这些研究的结果将促进我们对昆虫和植物之间相互作用的理解，但也将提供必要的信息，为常见的森林害虫提供环境友好型管理工具。

My long-term research goals are: i) to understand the processes influencing the abundance and distribution of tree- and crop-eating insects, especially the role of the plant that they feed on; and ii) to use this information in pest management programs that diminish our need for pesticides. Although the host plant is generally considered to play a major role in the population dynamics of insects feeding on hardwoods, most previous studies with galling and defoliating insects on conifers have emphasized the role of natural enemies (i.e., parasites, predators and disease). I will carry out field surveys and manipulative field experiments to determine the independent and interacting effects of plant characteristics and natural enemies on the abundance and performance of insect feeding on small white and black spruce trees, large hemlock trees and on birch trees. The underlying hypothesis of my research is that variations in these factors within individual plants is as great as that between plants, and thus that variations within plants can have as great an effect on insects as variations among plants. Results from these studies will advance our understanding of interactions between insects and plants but will also provide information needed to provide environmentally friendly management tools for common forest pests.