Crowd-sourced observations of a polyphagous moth reveal evidence of allochronic speciation varying along a latitudinal gradient.

ABSTRACT: Allochronic speciation, where reproductive isolation between populations of a species is facilitated by a difference in reproductive timing, depends on abiotic factors such as seasonality and biotic factors such as diapause intensity. These factors are strongly influenced by latitudinal trends in climate, so we hypothesized that there is a relationship between latitude and divergence among populations separated by life history timing. Hyphantria cunea (the fall webworm), a lepidopteran defoliator with red and black colour morphs, is hypothesized to be experiencing an incipient allochronic speciation. However, given their broad geographic range, the strength of allochronic speciation may vary across latitude. We annotated >11,000 crowd-sourced observations of fall webworm to model geographi

SUBMITTER: Black EN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10343147 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature