| Title: | Reproductive character displacement in Lymantria monacha from northern Japan? |
| Author(s): | Gries G; Schaefer PW; Gries R; Liska J; Gotoh T; |
| Address: | "Center for Environmental Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0098-0331 (Print) 0098-0331 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Our objective was to test the hypothesis that the pheromone blend and/or diel periodicity of pheromonal communication differ in populations of the nun moth, Lymantria monacha (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), from eastern Asia (northern Honshu, Japan) and Central Europe (Bohemia, Czech Republic). Coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses of pheromone gland extract of female L. monacha from Japan confirmed the presence of compounds previously identified in pheromone extracts of L. monacha from Bohemia, as follows: (Z)-7-octadecene, 2-methyl-(Z)-7-octadecene (2me-Z7-18Hy), cis-7,8-epoxy-octadecane (monachalure), and cis-7,8-epoxy-2-methyloctadecane (disparlure). Field experiments in Honshu suggested that (+)-monachalure is the major pheromone component of L. monacha. 2me-Z7-18Hy significantly enhanced attractiveness of (+)-monachalure. Addition of (+)-disparlure to (+)-monachalure plus 2me-Z7-18Hy in Honshu and Bohemia increased attractiveness of lures by 1.2 and 20 times, respectively, indicating that (+)-disparlure is of least and most significance in the respective L. monacha populations. Moreover, capture of male L. monacha in pheromone-baited traps between 18:00 and 24:00 hr in Bohemia and 2:00 and 5:00 hr in Honshu revealed a markedly different diel periodicity of pheromonal communication. Pheromonal communication late at night and use of (+)-monachalure, rather than (+)-disparlure, as the major pheromone component by L. monacha in Honshu may have resulted from interspecific competition with coseasonal L. fumida, which uses the early night for pheromonal communication and (+)-disparlure as major pheromone component. Whether communication channel divergence of L. monacha in Honshu indeed constitutes a case of reproductive character displacement is difficult to prove. The evolution of such divergence in sympatric populations of L. fumida and L. monacha would have to be demonstrated" |
| Keywords: | "*Animal Communication Animals Chemotaxis Chromatography, Gas Circadian Rhythm Electrophysiology Female Male Moths/*physiology Sex Attractants/*pharmacology Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineGries, G Schaefer, P W Gries, R Liska, J Gotoh, T eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2001/08/16 J Chem Ecol. 2001 Jun; 27(6):1163-76. doi: 10.1023/a:1010316029165" |
