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Insect Herbivory: Evolution and Impact on Speciation and Diversity
Chapter 23, Problem 7(choose chapter or problem)
Herbivory (plant eating) has evolved repeatedly in insects, typically from meat-eating or detritus-feeding ancestors (detritus is dead organic matter). Moths and butterflies, for example, eat plants, whereas their “sister group” (the insect group to which they are most closely related), the caddisflies, feed on animals, fungi, or detritus. As illustrated in the phylogenetic tree below, the combined moth/butterfly and caddisfly group shares a common ancestor with flies and fleas. Like caddisflies, flies and fleas are thought to have evolved from ancestors that did not eat plants.
There are 140,000 species of moths and butterflies and 7,000 species of caddisflies. State a hypothesis about the impact of herbivory on adaptive radiations in insects. How could this hypothesis be tested?
Questions & Answers
QUESTION:
Herbivory (plant eating) has evolved repeatedly in insects, typically from meat-eating or detritus-feeding ancestors (detritus is dead organic matter). Moths and butterflies, for example, eat plants, whereas their “sister group” (the insect group to which they are most closely related), the caddisflies, feed on animals, fungi, or detritus. As illustrated in the phylogenetic tree below, the combined moth/butterfly and caddisfly group shares a common ancestor with flies and fleas. Like caddisflies, flies and fleas are thought to have evolved from ancestors that did not eat plants.
There are 140,000 species of moths and butterflies and 7,000 species of caddisflies. State a hypothesis about the impact of herbivory on adaptive radiations in insects. How could this hypothesis be tested?
Step 1 of 3
Adaptive radiation can be explained as the evolutionary phenomenon in which an ancestral organism diversifies to produce several new descending species. This type of evolutionary change results in the rapid formation of new species from a single ancestral species.
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Insect Herbivory: Evolution and Impact on Speciation and Diversity
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Discover the evolution of plant-eating habits in insects, the links between moths, butterflies, caddisflies, flies, and fleas. Explore the hypothesis of how herbivory could influence speciation and diversity within the insect kingdom.