Tracking of Host Defenses and Phylogeny During the Radiation of Neotropical Inga-Feeding Sawflies (Hymenoptera; Argidae).

ABSTRACT: Coevolutionary theory has long predicted that the arms race between plants and herbivores is a major driver of host selection and diversification. At a local scale, plant defenses contribute significantly to the structure of herbivore assemblages and the high alpha diversity of plants in tropical rain forests. However, the general importance of plant defenses in host associations and divergence at regional scales remains unclear. Here, we examine the role of plant defensive traits and phylogeny in the evolution of host range and species divergence in leaf-feeding sawflies of the family Argidae associated with Neotropical trees in the genus Inga throughout the Amazon, the Guiana Shield and Panama. Our analyses show that the phylogenies of both the sawfly herbivores and their Inga<

SUBMITTER: Endara MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6116116 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature