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Polyphagy and diversification in tussock moths : Support for the oscillation hypothesis from extreme generalists

Wang, Houshuai ; Holloway, Jeremy D. ; Janz, Niklas ; Braga, Mariana P. ; Wahlberg, Niklas LU ; Wang, Min and Nylin, Sören (2017) In Ecology and Evolution 7(19). p.7975-7986
Abstract

Theory on plasticity driving speciation, as applied to insect–plant interactions (the oscillation hypothesis), predicts more species in clades with higher diversity of host use, all else being equal. Previous support comes mainly from specialized herbivores such as butterflies, and plasticity theory suggests that there may be an upper host range limit where host diversity no longer promotes diversification. The tussock moths (Erebidae: Lymantriinae) are known for extreme levels of polyphagy. We demonstrate that this system is also very different from butterflies in terms of phylogenetic signal for polyphagy and for use of specific host orders. Yet we found support for the generality of the oscillation hypothesis, in that clades with... (More)

Theory on plasticity driving speciation, as applied to insect–plant interactions (the oscillation hypothesis), predicts more species in clades with higher diversity of host use, all else being equal. Previous support comes mainly from specialized herbivores such as butterflies, and plasticity theory suggests that there may be an upper host range limit where host diversity no longer promotes diversification. The tussock moths (Erebidae: Lymantriinae) are known for extreme levels of polyphagy. We demonstrate that this system is also very different from butterflies in terms of phylogenetic signal for polyphagy and for use of specific host orders. Yet we found support for the generality of the oscillation hypothesis, in that clades with higher diversity of host use were found to contain more species. These clades also consistently contained the most polyphagous single species. Comparing host use in Lymantriinae with related taxa shows that the taxon indeed stands out in terms of the frequency of polyphagous species. Comparative evidence suggests that this is most probably due to its nonfeeding adults, with polyphagy being part of a resulting life history syndrome. Our results indicate that even high levels of plasticity can drive diversification, at least when the levels oscillate over time.

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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
host plant range, Lymantriinae, Nymphalidae, plasticity, speciation
in
Ecology and Evolution
volume
7
issue
19
pages
12 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • pmid:29043049
  • wos:000412523700035
  • scopus:85030705952
ISSN
2045-7758
DOI
10.1002/ece3.3350
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c6f7d7c5-2d96-4315-bda7-9d580984f879
date added to LUP
2017-10-16 12:40:39
date last changed
2024-02-13 09:06:39
@article{c6f7d7c5-2d96-4315-bda7-9d580984f879,
  abstract     = {{<p>Theory on plasticity driving speciation, as applied to insect–plant interactions (the oscillation hypothesis), predicts more species in clades with higher diversity of host use, all else being equal. Previous support comes mainly from specialized herbivores such as butterflies, and plasticity theory suggests that there may be an upper host range limit where host diversity no longer promotes diversification. The tussock moths (Erebidae: Lymantriinae) are known for extreme levels of polyphagy. We demonstrate that this system is also very different from butterflies in terms of phylogenetic signal for polyphagy and for use of specific host orders. Yet we found support for the generality of the oscillation hypothesis, in that clades with higher diversity of host use were found to contain more species. These clades also consistently contained the most polyphagous single species. Comparing host use in Lymantriinae with related taxa shows that the taxon indeed stands out in terms of the frequency of polyphagous species. Comparative evidence suggests that this is most probably due to its nonfeeding adults, with polyphagy being part of a resulting life history syndrome. Our results indicate that even high levels of plasticity can drive diversification, at least when the levels oscillate over time.</p>}},
  author       = {{Wang, Houshuai and Holloway, Jeremy D. and Janz, Niklas and Braga, Mariana P. and Wahlberg, Niklas and Wang, Min and Nylin, Sören}},
  issn         = {{2045-7758}},
  keywords     = {{host plant range; Lymantriinae; Nymphalidae; plasticity; speciation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{19}},
  pages        = {{7975--7986}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Ecology and Evolution}},
  title        = {{Polyphagy and diversification in tussock moths : Support for the oscillation hypothesis from extreme generalists}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3350}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/ece3.3350}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}