Cascading Evolution in a Complex System: Examining the Potential for Sympatric Speciation across Trophic Levels

Author: Philomena ColesCarruthers

Field of Study: Science, Technology, Engineering, and/or Math

Program Affiliation: Summer Scholars and Artists Program (SSAP)

Faculty Mentors: Thomas Powell

Easel: 6

Timeslot: Afternoon

Abstract: Ecological adaptation can drive a snowball effect in creating new biodiversity when ecological opportunities presented by a new species trigger further divergence across an interdependent system. Evolutionary processes at play in tri-trophic interactions, especially in instances of sympatric speciation, are not yet fully understood. The goldenrod gall fly Eurosta solidaginis is currently undergoing sympatric speciation due to divergent adaptation to host plants Solidago altissima and Solidago gigantea. This project tests for genomic differentiation among parasitoid communities attacking these two diverging gallmaker populations. Currently, population genomic analyses of Mordellistena convicta and Eurytoma gigantea parasitoids are being conducted across the two host plant associations using libraries that were created through a double-digest RADseq approach and sequenced via Paired-end 150X15 Illumina NovaSeq. Results will have implications for cascading evolutionary processes during an ongoing speciation event and may help clarify the effect of a population’s shifting ecological niche within a complex community of organisms.