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Fall 2013
The phylogenetic relationships of the destructive spruce budworm group of forest pests (Choristoneura fumiferana species complex) have previously been explored using allozymes, microsatellites, mitochondrial genes and a nuclear gene, but remain poorly resolved with conflicting topologies. I used...
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Fall 2017
Leafrollers moths are one of the most ecologically and economically important groups of herbivorous insects. These Lepidoptera are an ideal model for exploring the drivers that modulate the processes of diversification over time. This thesis analyzes the evolution of Choristoneura Lederer, a well...
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Spring 2013
The Rocky Mountain apollo butterfly, Parnassius smintheus, and its host-plant Sedum lanceolatum, are endemic to open alpine meadows threatened by the encroachment of trees. I explore variability in interactions between P. smintheus and S. lanceolatum relative to the treeline-delimited meadow...
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Plasticity in response to semiochemicals as part of a reproductive diapause syndrome in a long-lived moth, Caloptilia fraxinella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae)
DownloadSpring 2014
In Lepidoptera that exhibit a delay in mating, response to semiochemicals associated with mating may be plastic, to optimize timing of reproductive events with appropriate environmental conditions. This thesis examines male response to female sex pheromone and male and female response to host...
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Population structure and phylogenetic relationships of Ceutorhynchus neglectus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
Download2005
Sperling, F. A. H., Dosdall, L. M., Laffin, R. D.
Ceutorhynchus neglectus Blatchley is a weevil that is native to, and widely distributed in, North America. It has life-history characteristics similar to its alien invasive congener, Ceutorhynchus obstrictus (Marsham), the cabbage seedpod weevil. Our study was undertaken to compare the population...
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Species delimitation in the Choristoneura fumiferana species complex (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)
DownloadFall 2010
Species identifications have been historically difficult in the economically important spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) pest complex. Morphological, ecological, behavioural, and genetic characters have been studied to try to understand the taxonomy of this group, but diagnostic character...
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Fall 2019
Temporal isolation contributes to ecological speciation in a diversity of insect taxa. Such prezygotic isolation can reduce or stop hybridization between closely related taxa or populations, leading to speciation. Within the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) species complex, hybridization...
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The influence of larval diet and microsporidian infection on life history traits of the forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria Hübner (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)
DownloadFall 2021
The forest tent caterpillar (FTC), Malacosoma disstria Hübner (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), is an important ecological disturbance factor of deciduous hardwood trees in North America. Disturbance is greater during outbreaks; a cyclical phenomenon in which large numbers of FTC larvae cause...
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The roles of temperature and host plant interactions in larval development and population ecology of Parnassius smintheus Doubleday, the Rocky Mountain Apollo butterfly
DownloadFall 2011
Alpine environments are harsh and unpredictable. Exogenous factors such as weather might therefore be expected to dominate processes affecting population dynamics of alpine organisms, relative to endogenous factors including plant-animal interactions. The alpine butterfly Parnassius smintheus...