Summary: Journal of
Ecology 2003
91, 1049­1059
© 2003 British
Ecological Society
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Ecological play in the coevolutionary theatre: genetic and
environmentaldeterminantsof attackbyaspecialistweevil
on milkweed
ANURAG A. AGRAWAL and PETER A. VAN ZANDT*
Department of Botany, 25 Willcocks Street, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
Summary
1 We studied the genetic and environmental determinants of attack by the specialist
stem-attacking weevil, Rhyssomatus lineaticollis on Asclepias syriaca.
2 In natural populations, the extent of stem damage and oviposition were positively
correlated with stem width, but not stem height. We hypothesized that both genotypic
and environmental factors influencing stem morphology would affect attack by weevils.
3 In a common garden study with 21 full-sib families of milkweed, both phenotypic
and genetic correlations indicated that weevils impose more damage and lay more eggs
on thicker stemmed plants.

Source: Agrawal, Anurag - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology & Entomollogy, Cornell University
Van Zandt, Peter - Biology Department, Birmingham-Southern College

Collections: Environmental Sciences and Ecology