Post-glacial colonization of the Fennoscandian coast by a plant parasitic insect with an unusual life history ...

Species that exhibit very peculiar ecological traits combined with limited dispersal ability pose a challenge to our understanding of ecological and evolutionary mechanisms. This is especially true when they have managed to spread over long distances, overcome physical barriers and colonise large ar...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kaňuch, Peter
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: Dryad 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v70
https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.63xsj3v70
Description
Summary:Species that exhibit very peculiar ecological traits combined with limited dispersal ability pose a challenge to our understanding of ecological and evolutionary mechanisms. This is especially true when they have managed to spread over long distances, overcome physical barriers and colonise large areas. Climate and landscape changes, trophic web relations as well as life history all interact to shape migration routes and present-day species distributions and their population genetic structures. Here we analysed the post-glacial colonization of northern Europe by the gall midge Contarinia vincetoxici, which is a monophagous parasite on the perennial herb White swallowwort (Vincetoxicum hirundinaria). This insect not only has a narrow feeding niche but also limited dispersal ability and an exceptionally long dormancy. Gall midge larvae (n = 329) were collected from 16 sites along its distribution range in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. Using microsatellite loci and knowledge of the species and the regions’ ...