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Niche Breadth University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020- 2020 The Effects of Plant Phytochemistry on Parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Niche Breadth Ryan Ridenbaugh University of Central Florida Part of the Biology Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2020 University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020- by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Ridenbaugh, Ryan, "The Effects of Plant Phytochemistry on Parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Niche Breadth" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-. 123. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2020/123 THE EFFECTS OF PLANT PHYTOCHEMISTRY ON PARASITOID (HYMENOPTERA: BRACONIDAE) NICHE BREADTH by RYAN D. RIDENBAUGH B.S. University of Central Florida, 2016 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Sciences in the Department of Biology in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2020 © 2020 Ryan D. Ridenbaugh ii ABSTRACT The definition of a species, a fundamental unit of biology, has been debated since its inception. This level of classification is vital to our ability to make meaningful comparisons across all subdisciplines of biology. Cryptic species, those which are indistinguishable from another species using morphology alone, pose a unique problem. This is especially true for biological control programs, where the control of an invasive pest is achieved through the importation of a natural enemy or parasitoid from the pest’s native range. The accidental importation of a cryptic species could have long lasting negative environmental effects. Molecular taxonomy provides a solution. A recent large- scale phylogenetic study of Eadya paropsidis, a potential biological control agent for the invasive New Zealand pest Paropsis charybdis, also known as the Eucalyptus tortoise beetle, is a perfect model for the integration of molecular taxonomy into biological control research. This study not only uncovered a cryptic species, but three additional non-cryptic species as well, each of which exhibit varying degrees of host flexibility. Here I formally describe three new species of Eadya (E. daenerys, E. spitzer, E. annleckieae) using an integrative taxonomic approach, and redescribe the two previously known species of Eadya (E. paropsidis and E. falcata). An additional species (E. duncan) from the Australian National Insect Collection is described using morphology. The formal description of these host flexible species enables investigation on the influence of plant phytochemistry on parasitoid niche breadth. Using 112 compounds extracted from Eucalyptus leaves, I conclude that host selection is heavily influenced by infochemicals from the 1st trophic level. With this evidence, I amend the reliability- detectability iii hypothesis of Vet and Dick (1992) on infochemical use by natural enemies of herbivores, to include the scenario in which an oligophagous parasitoid utilizes oligophagous hosts. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Throughout my undergraduate and graduate career at the University of Central Florida there have been numerous people who have helped me get to where I am today. I would like to start by thanking Dr. Hojun Song and the Song Lab. Dr. Song reignited my childhood passion for Entomology, and kickstarted my academic career. I would like to thank the members of the Sharanowski lab, especially Dr. Miles Zhang, Erin Barbeau, Joshua Hogan, and Salena Kasha. Miles was both a mentor and friend during my tenure in the Sharanowski Lab. Quickly taking me under his wing, most of what I know about macrophotography, molecular bench skills, and memes I learned from him. Erin Barbeau was crucial to the taxonomic work of Chapter 2. Without zir I would have spent many long nights hunched over the microscope taking tedious, and often difficult, measurements. I would like to thank Josh Hogan for his assistance with the macrophotography in Chapter 2. Finally, I would like to thank Salena Kasha for her help with the DNA extractions for Chapter 3. I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Michelle Gaither and Dr. Chase Mason. Michelle has taught me much about one of my favorite academic duties, teaching. I am very thankful for the opportunity to gain experience guest lecturing for her undergraduate Evolution class, and all the guidance she provided me while teaching my first class as a principal instructor. I would like to thank Chase for his infectious enthusiasm and his guidance on collecting plant samples and conducting the analyses for Chapter 3. There were times in which I entered his office concerned about one aspect or another of my thesis, but without fail I always left confident and excited to move forward. v I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Barb Sharanowski. The road to where I am today has not been easy. There was I time in which I thought I would be unable to continue my academic career. Barb saw potential in me and fought to get me accepted into the program. Her support and guidance have never wavered, and for that I am eternally grateful. I would like to thank my international support team for which none of this work would have been possible without. First, I would like to thank the Australian National University Division of Ecology and Evolution and Dr. Megan Head for providing me a home away from home during my two field expeditions to Australia. Megan and Constanza Leon were instrumental in rearing the hundreds if not thousands of beetle larvae I collected during my trip. Without them I would have never been able to generate the data for this thesis. I would like to Dr. Toni Withers of SCION and Dr. Geoff Allen of the University of Tasmania. Toni provided the funding necessary to conduct my field work, and both her and Geoff provided guidance on collecting and rearing Eadya. Last but not least I would like to thank my mother and father, Nancy and Anthony Ridenbaugh, my sister, Kaitlyn Ridenbaugh, and my fiancé, Alexandra Depasquale, for their love and support over the years. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER TWO: DESCRIPTION OF FOUR NEW SPECIES OF EADYA (HYMENOPTERA, BRACONIDAE), PARASITOIDS OF THE EUCALYPTUS TORTOISE BEETLE (PAROPSIS CHARYBDIS) AND OTHER EUCALYPTUS DEFOLIATING LEAF BEETLES .......................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 8 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................11 Results ........................................................................................................................14 Morphometrics Analysis ..........................................................................................14 Taxonomic Descriptions ..........................................................................................15 Key to the species of Eadya ....................................................................................35 Discussion ...................................................................................................................36 CHAPTER THREE: THE EFFECTS OF PLANT PHYTOCHEMISTRY ON PARASITOID (HYMENOPTERA: BRACONIDAE) NICHE BREADTH .................................................41 Introduction .................................................................................................................41 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................45 Sample Collection ....................................................................................................45 DNA Extraction and PCR Protocol ..........................................................................47 vii Phytochemical Extraction and Analysis ...................................................................48 Phylogenetic Analyses and Species Delimitation ....................................................49 Parasitoid-Host Cophylogenetic Analyses ...............................................................51 Principal Component and Random Forest Analyses ...............................................52 Results ........................................................................................................................55 Phylogenetic Analyses and Species Identification ..................................................55 Parasitoid-Host Cophylogenetic Analyses ...............................................................57 Principal Component and Random Forest Analyses ...............................................58 Discussion ...................................................................................................................61 CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSIONS ...............................................................................67
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