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Host tree age as a selective pressure leading to local adaptation of a population of a polyphagous Lepidoptera in virgin boreal forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2009

R. Berthiaume ,
É. Bauce ,
C. Hébert  and
J. Brodeur
R. Berthiaume*
Affiliation:
Université Laval, Faculté de Foresterie, Cité Universitaire, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, Québec, QCCanada, G1K 7P4
É. Bauce
Affiliation:
Université Laval, Faculté de Foresterie, Cité Universitaire, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, Québec, QCCanada, G1K 7P4
C. Hébert
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055 du P.E.P.S., PO Box 10380, Stn. Sainte-Foy, Québec, QCCanada, G1V 4C7
J. Brodeur
Affiliation:
Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal, 4101, rue Sherbrooke est, Montréal, QCCanadaH1X 2B2
*
*Author for correspondence Fax: (418) 648-5849 E-mail: rberthiaume@cfl.forestry.ca
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Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that host tree age may act as a selective factor and lead to local adaptation of the hemlock looper (Lambdina fiscellaria), a geometrid Lepidoptera that has a wide geographical distribution and has evolved in different eco-zones characterized by different levels of floristic composition, age structure and fragmentation level. Considering that hemlock looper outbreaks mainly occurred in old forests, we compared the biological performances of two populations. The first population was collected in the northern virgin boreal forest, which is dominated by mature and overmature coniferous stands that have not suffered from human disturbance. The other population was collected in the southern mixed-wood forest, which is more diversified and has been modified by forest harvesting. Larvae were reared under controlled conditions on foliage from three age classes of balsam fir trees: juvenile, mature and overmature. Although we measured significant variations of biological performances between the two populations, no significant effect of the age of the balsam fir trees could be detected for males from both populations or for females from the southern population. However, northern females were strongly affected by the age of balsam fir trees on which they fed, as their pupal weight was 12% higher and their fecundity increased by 27% on overmature trees compared with juvenile ones. These results indicate that under the same selective pressure, females adapt their strategy to maximize their fitness, and thus they appear as the driving force of evolution through the local adaptation concept. Furthermore, the two populations evolved in distinct habitats and their adaptation reflects selective pressures occurring inside their original environment. This is the first report on local adaptation of an herbivore that is mediated by host tree age. Changes in forest age structure may have a considerable impact on insect local adaptation and presumably on their population dynamics.

Keywords

local adaptationinsect plant interactionshost tree ageselective pressuregeographic variationlandscapeLambdina fiscellariabalsam fir
Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 99 , Issue 5 , October 2009 , pp. 493 - 501
Creative Commons
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada
Copyright
Copyright © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2009

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