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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Specialization And Trade-Offs In Plant-Feeding Insects, Daniel Peterson
Specialization And Trade-Offs In Plant-Feeding Insects, Daniel Peterson
Doctoral Dissertations
The immense diversity of life on Earth has been attributed to the partitioning of available resources into ecological niches, but it is not obvious what determines the niche size of each species. For example, most plant-feeding insects consume only one or a few closely-related host-plant species despite the advantages of having a broader diet. Many researchers have therefore suggested that the evolution of broad diets in plant-feeding insects must be constrained by genetic trade-offs between adaptations to alternative host-plants. Despite its intuitive feel, however, little empirical evidence in support of the trade-off hypothesis has emerged from decades of experimental studies …
Biology, Molecular Systematics, Population Dynamics And Control Of A Stem Gall Wasp, Zapatella Davisae (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), Monica Davis
Doctoral Dissertations
Gall wasps are phytophagous insects that often go unnoticed, however, when they are released from their natural enemies, they have the capacity to outbreak and cause extensive foliar damage. One such outbreaking pest, Zapatella davisae, causes significant damage and mortality to black oak, Quercus velutina. In recent years, black oak decline has been documented in Long Island, New York and coastal New England. Little is known about the lifecycle, distribution or population dynamics of Zapatella davisae and the taxonomy of the species is still unclear. My first study described the biology and distribution of Z. davisae. Zapatella …