Molecular and Ecological Differentiation of Species and Species Interactions Across Large Geographic Regions: California and the Pacific Northwest

摘要

Through a combination of molecular and ecological studies in recent decades, we now know that many insect species are collections of genetically differentiated populations. Few insect species are panmictic in their molecular markers throughout their geographical ranges. Moreover, insect populations often differ in their phenotypic traits, including their feeding preferences and performance on different hosts, their ways of searching for hosts, and their defences against enemies (e.g. Singer and Thomas, 1996; Nielsen, 1997; Thompson, 1998; Kraaijeveld and Godfrey, 1999; Craig et al., 2000; de Jong et al., 2000; Fellowes and Godfray, 2000; Althoff and Thompson, 2001).