Fordyce James A, Nice Chris C
Section of Evolution and Ecology, Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
Evolution. 2004 Feb;58(2):447-50.
We investigated one causal explanation for geographic variation in clutch size and aggregative feeding of the pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor. Populations in California lay larger clutches than those in Texas, and larger feeding aggregations grow at an accelerated rate on the California host plant. Using reciprocal transplant experiments with larvae from California and Texas populations, we found that the benefit of increased growth rate associated with feeding in larger groups occurred only on the California host plant and was observed for larvae from both populations. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that larger clutch size and aggregative feeding are adaptations to characteristics of the California host plant. Future studies on the evolution of clutch size and aggregative feeding of herbivorous insects should consider how these life-history traits affect host plant suitability.
我们研究了关于西番凤蝶（Battus philenor）窝卵数的地理变异及集群取食现象的一种因果解释。加利福尼亚州的种群所产窝卵数比得克萨斯州的种群更多，并且在加利福尼亚州的寄主植物上，更大的取食集群生长速度更快。通过对来自加利福尼亚州和得克萨斯州种群的幼虫进行 reciprocal transplant 实验，我们发现与在更大群体中取食相关的生长率提高的益处仅在加利福尼亚州的寄主植物上出现，并且两个种群的幼虫均表现出这一现象。这些结果与以下假设一致，即更大的窝卵数和集群取食是对加利福尼亚州寄主植物特征的适应性表现。未来关于食草昆虫窝卵数和集群取食进化的研究应考虑这些生活史特征如何影响寄主植物的适宜性。 （注：“reciprocal transplant”直译为“相互移植”，但在生物学实验语境中可能有更专业的术语表述，这里保留英文以便读者理解实验方式的专业性。）
