A global phylogeny of leafmining Ectoedemia moths (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae): exploring host plant family shifts and allopatry as drivers of speciation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Host association patterns in Ectoedemia (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae) are also encountered in other insect groups with intimate plant relationships, including a high degree of monophagy, a preference for ecologically dominant plant families (e.g. Fagaceae, Rosaceae, Salicaceae, and Betulaceae) and a tendency for related insect species to feed on related host plant species. The evolutionary processes underlying these patterns are only partly understood, we therefore assessed the role of allopatry and host plant family shifts in speciation within Ectoedemia.

Methodology

Six nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers with a total aligned length of 3692 base pairs were used to infer phylogenetic relationships among 92 species belonging to the subgenus Ectoedemia of the genus

SUBMITTER: Doorenweerd C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4365004 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature