Lethal Interactions Between Parasites and Prey Increase Niche Diversity in a Tropical Community

Thumbnail Image
Date
2014-03-01
Authors
Condon, Marty
Scheffer, Sonja
Lewis, Matthew
Wharton, Robert
Adams, Dean
Forbes, Andrew
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Person
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Organizational Unit
Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology

The Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology seeks to teach the studies of ecology (organisms and their environment), evolutionary theory (the origin and interrelationships of organisms), and organismal biology (the structure, function, and biodiversity of organisms). In doing this, it offers several majors which are codirected with other departments, including biology, genetics, and environmental sciences.

History
The Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology was founded in 2003 as a merger of the Department of Botany, the Department of Microbiology, and the Department of Zoology and Genetics.

Dates of Existence
2003–present

Related Units

Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
Abstract

Ecological specialization should minimize niche overlap, yet herbivorous neotropical flies (Blepharoneura) and their lethal parasitic wasps (parasitoids) exhibit both extreme specialization and apparent niche overlap in host plants. From just two plant species at one site in Peru, we collected 3636 flowers yielding 1478 fly pupae representing 14 Blepharoneura fly species, 18 parasitoid species (14 Bellopius species), and parasitoid-host associations, all discovered through analysis of molecular data. Multiple sympatric species specialize on the same sex flowers of the same fly host-plant species—which suggests extreme niche overlap; however, niche partitioning was exposed by interactions between wasps and flies. Most Bellopius species emerged as adults from only one fly species, yet evidence from pupae (preadult emergence samples) show that most Bellopiusalso attacked additional fly species but never emerged as adults from those flies.

Comments

This article is from Science 343 (2014): 1240, doi:10.1126/science.1245007.

Description
Keywords
Citation
DOI
Copyright
Collections