Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology
VOLF LAB
We have published a paper that shows how phytochemical beta-diversity affects insect specialization! Quantity and specialisation matter: Effects of quantitative and qualitative variation in willow chemistry on resource preference in leaf-chewing insects Phytochemical diversity plays important roles in plant-Insect interactions, but specific roles of its various dimensions are poorly known. We linked phytochemical variation in willow salicylates (Salicaceae-specific metabolites) and flavonoids (widespread metabolites) to a standardised distance-based specialisation index (DSI*) in three orders of leaf-chewing insects: sawfly larvae, beetles, and caterpillars. Our results suggest that β-diversity in plant chemistry has differential effects on insect herbivores depending on their order and chemical β-diversity measurement used. Chrysomela populi - one of the highly specialized herbivores studied in this paper.
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New PublicationsVolf M., Fontanilla A.M., Vanhakylä S., Abe T., Libra M., Kogo R., Lilip R. , Kamata N. , Murakami M., Novotny V., Salminen J-P. , Segar S. T., (2024) High intraspecific variability and previous experience affect polyphenol metabolism in polyphagous Lymantria mathura caterpillars. Ecology and Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10973
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