Phenotype Matching in Yuccas & Yucca Moths: Is it Coevolution?
Phenotype Matching in Yuccas & Yucca Moths: Is it Coevolution?
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Darwin and Coevolution Angraecum sesquipedale
Nectar spur
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Darwin and Coevolution Angraecum sesquipedale
“ In Madagascar there must be moths with proboscises capable of extension to a length of between ten and eleven inches!”
-Darwin, 1862
On the Various Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects
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Darwin and Coevolution Angraecum sesquipedale
Xanthopan morganii praedictahttp://www.willamette.edu/~csmith/ChrisSmith.htm
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Measuring reciprocal natural selection in the Joshua tree - Yucca Moth Mutualism
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•Yucca moths (Tegeticula spp) pollinate the flowers, and oviposit into ovules.
Natural History of the Yucca - Yucca Moth Mutualism
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•Yucca moths (Tegeticula spp) pollinate the flowers, and oviposit into ovules.
•Larvae feed inside fruit and eat a portion of the seeds.
Photo: Olle Pellmyr
Natural History of the Yucca - Yucca Moth Mutualism
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•Unique / unusual morphological features associated with the interaction.
•Female moths have uniquely-derived ‘tentacle’ mouthparts for carrying pollen.
(Pellmyr and Krenn, 2002)
Natural History of the Yucca - Yucca Moth Mutualism
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•Unique / unusual morphological features associated with the interaction.
•Terminal abdominal segments modified to form a blade-like ovipositor.
(Klots, 1970)
Natural History of the Yucca - Yucca Moth Mutualism
Schematic of the yucca-moth abdomen
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•Unique / unusual morphological features associated with the interaction.
•During oviposition the moth cuts into the flower, and lays her eggs in contact with the ovules.
Natural History of the Yucca - Yucca Moth Mutualism
Oviposition behavior in T. syntheticahttp://www.willamette.edu/~csmith/ChrisSmith.htm
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•Moth ovipositors vary significantly between species.
(Pellmyr, 1999)
Macroevolutionary Pattern: Phenotype Matching
Variation in ovipositorshttp://www.willamette.edu/~csmith/ChrisSmith.htm
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•Moth ovipositors vary significantly between species.
•Across Species, Length of Moth Ovipositors is Correlated with Ovary Thickness at the Point of Oviposition.
Macroevolutionary Pattern: Phenotype Matching
Matching in Yuccas & Yucca Mothshttp://www.willamette.edu/~csmith/ChrisSmith.htm
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SCRP Students
1. Field Research: Spring Break and Early Summer
2. Ecological Experiments: How do differences in ovipositor length effect fitness.
3. Genetic and genomic tools: What genes control floral morphology? Are they under selection?
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Learn More
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