Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/B504406/1
Host-associated population substructure in generalist parasitoids: cynipid oak gall communities as a model system.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor G Stone, University of Edinburgh, Inst of Evolutionary Biology
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr S Nee, University of Edinburgh, Sch of Biological Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr K Schonrogge, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Biodiversity (Wallingford)
- Grant held at:
- University of Edinburgh, Inst of Evolutionary Biology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Natural Resource Management
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Population Genetics/Evolution
- Community Ecology
- Abstract:
- The most species-rich communities on Earth are dominated by plant-feeding insects and the insect predators that feed on them. Many of the predators in these communities attack many prey species (i.e. they are 'generalists'), and the foodwebs linking predators and prey are often complex. This observation is contrary to ecological theories that predict that predators should attack only a small number of prey species at any one time, resulting in the collapse of complex foodwebs into smaller sets of interacting species. Nature and theory can be reconciled if what we view as generalist predators in fact consist of subpopulations, each of which only attacks a proportion of the available hosts at any one time and place. We propose to address this issue using the rich and well-studied communities of natural enemies attacking oak cynipid gallwasps. The galls induced by these insects represent natural microcosms within which generalist enemies (particularly parasitoid wasps) inflict high mortality on their gallwasp hosts, and recent work has generated detailed foodweb for several oak gall communities. We will use DNA-based population genetic approaches to reveal the extent to which the populations of generalist enemies are structured among alternative gallwasp hosts, and examine directly the consequences of the population structure we find on foodweb complexity. More broadly, the use of oak galls as a study system allows us to address two further issues in ecology - the adaptive significance of variation in gall structure among gallwasp species, and the mechanisms by which communities of natural enemies develop around invading or introduced prey.
- Period of Award:
- 14 Dec 2004 - 13 Dec 2007
- Value:
- £325,915 Lead Split Award
Authorised funds only
- NERC Reference:
- NE/B504406/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £325,915
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs | Total - Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £10,082 | £148,231 | £78,012 | £68,187 | £21,403 |
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