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 PublicationsMarinček P., Léveillé-Bourret É. , Heiduk F., Leong J.V , Bailleul S.M., Volf M., . Wagner N.D. (2024) Challenge accepted: Evolutionary lineages versus taxonomic classification of North American shrub willows (Salix). the American Journal of Botany, https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16361
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