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Quantifying Corticolous Arthropods Using Sticky Traps
Published on: January 19, 2020
Structure of herbivore communities in two oak (Quercus spp.) hybrid zones
William J Boecklen1, Richard Spellenberg1
1Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, 88003, Las Cruces, NM, USA.
Abstract:
We examined patterns of density and species diversity for leaf-mining Lepidopterans and gall-forming Hymenopterans in two oak (Quercus spp.) hybrid zones: Quercus depressipes x Q. rugosa and Q. emoryi x Q. coccolobifolia. In both species complexes, hybrid hosts typically supported significantly lower densities and species diversity of parasites than did parental types. This contradicts the findings of Whitham (1989) that suggested that hybrid hosts may act as parasite sinks both in ecological and evolutionary time. We discuss features of hybrid zones that are likely to influence patterns of herbivory.
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