The influence of interaction type and feeding location on the phylogeographic structure of the yucca moth community associated with Hesperoyucca whipplei
Author
Summary, in English
The interactions between herbivorous insects and their host plants have been central in generating diversification in both groups. We used a community of four yucca moth species, monophagous on the host plant Hesperoyucca whipplei (Agavaceae), to examine how the type of interaction and where insects feed within a plant influence phylogeographic structure of herbivorous insects. These four species included two fruit-feeders, one mutualistic and one commensalistic, and two commensalistic stalk-feeders. Surveys based on mtDNA cytochrome oxidase I sequence data demonstrated that the moth species differed in phylogeographic history. Populations of the mutualist pollinator, Tegeticula maculata, exhibited the most subdivision in comparison to the three commensal Prodoxus species (both genera in Lepidoptera, Prodoxidae). Feeding location was also correlated with differences in phylogeographic history through its influence on population sizes and the probability of gene flow. The results suggest that both the outcome of interactions and where insects feed may influence population structure. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Department/s
Publishing year
2007
Language
English
Pages
398-406
Publication/Series
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
Volume
43
Issue
2
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Elsevier
Topic
- Biological Sciences
- Zoology
Keywords
- host utilization
- mutualism
- Yucca
- phylogeography
- yucca moths
- comparative
Status
Published
Project
- Chemical ecology of obligate pollination mutualisms
Research group
- Pheromone Group
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1095-9513