I compared the strength of bottom- up and top-down effects on insect herbivores along a natural salinity gradient in salt marsh communities in West - Central, Florida. I used a 2x2 factorial design with plots divided into four different treatments: 1) fertilizer applied to increase plant quality 2) sticky traps added to remove natural enemies (parasitoids) 3) fertilizer applied and sticky traps added and 4) control plots. These plots were placed on 7 different sites containing the salt marsh plant Borrichia frutescens along a natural stress salinity gradient. In each plot I determined the abundance of the sap sucker Pissonotus quadripustulatus, the gall maker Asphondylia borrichiae, spiders and the number of chewed leaves and bored stems. I also recorded leaf area, plant density, plant height and foliar nitrogen. Plants in fertilized plots exhibited increased height, density and leaf area.

Includes two journal articles with contributions by the author / Bibliography: leaves 145-154 / vii, 164 leaves : ill ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Plant Pathology, 1988

Attempts were made to grow Fergusobia nematodes in a dual aseptic culture with Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Callus tissue was grown from E. camaldulensis stem pieces in aseptic conditions. Calli were prone to deterioration after 14 days unless transferred to fresh growth medium. Lower levels of solutes (25% Murashige and Skoog salts, 25% plant vitamins and 0.5% sucrose) were more successful than published concentrations. Fergusobia J2 nematodes were surface sterilised with either Hibitane or washed with water to prepare them for inoculation of callus (Hay, 1994). Fergusobia subsequently recovered from plates of callus were all dead, which raised questions of how the nematodes are suited to Murashige and Skoog salt solutions. The survival of Fergusobia in aqueous solutions was then observed. It has been assumed that Fergusobia live about 2 days after dissection. Amphimictic nematodes from E. camaldulensis axial bud galls were used for a survival study. Nematodes lived for as long as 12 days in fresh tap water and 11 days in 1% M.S. solution. They were more active in tap water than in 1% M.S. solution. Nematodes in a dish together with dissected gall material died within 2 days. Nematodes in a separate dish with fresh tap water and clean gall fibres were observed to gather around the fibres. Observations of Fergusobia could be made within fresh solutions providing deteriorating gall tissues were removed from the dish. Gall production was attempted on E. camaldulensis grown in the glasshouse. These tree saplings were pruned to encourage new growth and periodically treated for infestations of scale insects leading to growth of sooty mould. Two forms of cage construction were used: (1) 1 m ³ screened cages and (2) acetate sleeves as used by Goolsby et al., 2000. Within the 1 m ³ cages containing flies, the growing points on saplings were blackened, possibly due to over-exploitation by ovipositing flies. One growing point caged in an acetate sleeve showed oviposition scars but did not produce a mature gall. Production of galls in the glasshouse was hindered by a lack in coincidence of flies emerging from mature galls and the flush of new growth following pruning. The production of galls within the glasshouse was not achieved. The phenology of E. camaldulensis, a host for the Fergusonina/Fergusobia mutualism, and gall ecology were observed in a two-year, non-destructive, field study in the Urrbrae Wetlands, Adelaide, South Australia. Tree growth and gall development was observed in the lower regions (0 – 2 m) of young trees. Three bud forms, terminal leaf bud, axial leaf bud and flower bud galls were monitored on the trees. The densities of galls were highly seasonal. Greatest density of growing points, axial leaf bud and flower bud galls occurred mostly during mid-winter to spring, whereas that of terminal leaf bud galls occurred during mid-spring to summer. Galling of flower buds did not appear to influence flowering and more flower buds and flowers occurred in the second year of the study as the trees matured. Trees mostly had medium (30-70%) levels of leaf damage, but there were seasonal trends in damage levels. Low scores for leaf damage were associated with increases in flower bud and flower production. Leaf damage, including sooty mould, appeared to increase during the cooler winter months. There were no significant seasonal relationships between levels of leaf damage and either growing point density or the occurrence of galls. When trees were compared with each other, those with lower leaf damage were more likely to have more growing points. The appearance of the canopy and the likelihood of a tree to have galls varied greatly between the trees. One tree was particularly susceptible to leaf attack, rarely had new leaves and produced no mature galls during the study. The colouring of leaves varied between trees, which indicates possible genetic variations causing some trees to be more likely hosts for Fergusonina/Fergusobia. Both new vegetative growth and terminal leaf bud galls were concentrated on the northern and eastern quadrants. Axial leaf bud and flower bud galls occurred more on the western or southern quadrants where they were possibly more protected from sun exposure on the northern or eastern quadrants. Axial galls on the northern side of one tree became reddened while those in the southern and western quadrants remained green. Reddening of axial galls may increase their likelihood of parasitism and predation by birds. Each of the three gall forms occurred within certain positions in the canopy. The tree host resource is partitioned effectively, with the three gall forms occurring on three different host structures. Additionally, the two vegetative forms terminal leaf bud and axial leaf bud galls occur on different shoot regions and in different seasons. The numbers of the galls is probably also affected by biotic and climatic influences. Parasitism, plant canopy shading, nutrient levels and host genetics are possible influences. Assuming an interval of 4 weeks between oviposition and first observation within the current study, terminal leaf bud galls had an average longevity of 11 weeks and axial leaf bud galls an average longevity of 14 weeks. Flower bud galls had longevities of 14 to 27 weeks from oviposition to senescence, assuming an interval of 6 weeks between oviposition and first observation within the current study. Flowers and flower buds occur irregularly within the eucalypts so it would be advantageous for flies and nematodes developing within flower bud galls to have extended or variable longevities to allow fly emergences to coincide with new flower buds. Not all of the galls recorded matured to produce adult flies. Nearly half of the terminal leaf bud galls initiated were aborted, recorded as absent, parasitised or eaten (45% of initiated galls). Of the three gall forms, they were the most prone to obvious parasitism and as many as 12 hymenopteran species have been reared from terminal leaf bud galls on E. camaldulensis (Taylor et al., 1996). These galls obviously provide a resource for many species within multiple trophic levels. Fourteen percent of axial leaf bud galls were absent or eaten and birds were seen breaking off and feeding on the galls. More than half (55%) of the initiated flower bud galls disappeared during the period of observation, possibly due to the foraging of birds. Destructive sampling and rearing out of parasitoids from both axial leaf bud and flower bud gall forms is needed to establish what species exist within them. Terminal leaf bud galls ranged from 7.5 to 30.1 mm in diameter and 10.0 to 43.6 mm in length. Flower bud gall size varied, with the largest being 15.0 mm by 22.3 mm. Axial leaf bud galls, ranged from 2.6 to 13.0 mm in diameter and length ranged from 2.3 to 10.5 mm. The larger axial leaf bud galls were nodular and appeared to have multiple locules. Destructive sampling and rearing out of flies is needed to establish the relationship between size and numbers of flies emerging. Terminal leaf bud galls increased in size, including many locules and exit holes per gall. Axial leaf bud galls were much smaller than the terminal leaf bud galls and 99% had only one to three exit holes. The rounded shape and presence of few locules within the axial leaf bud galls indicate that this form is limited to a shape and size producing few flies. The observation of greater size of terminal leaf bud galls suggests that these galls may have multiple foundresses. Twelve of the 13 flower bud galls with exit holes had either one or two holes. In flower bud galls on E. camaldulensis. the operculum remains sealed and the characteristic Fergusonina “window” appears at the side of the flower bud before fly emergence through a single hole. Destructive sampling is also necessary to determine parasitism of each of the gall forms. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1331016 / Thesis (M.Sc.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, 2008

Lic.-avh. Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2006. / Härtill 2 uppsatser. Felaktigt institutionsnamn i publikationen. Rätt namn: Department of Entomology.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Plant Pathology / Bikram S. Gill / H13, a dominant resistance gene transferred from Aegilops tauschii into wheat (Triticum aestivum), confers a high level of antibiosis against a wide range of Hessian fly (HF, Mayetiola destructor) biotypes. Previously, H13 was mapped to the distal arm of chromosome 6DS, where it is flanked by markers Xcfd132 and Xgdm36. A mapping population of 1,368 F2 individuals derived from the cross: PI372129 (h13h13) / PI562619 (Molly, H13H13) was genotyped and H13 was flanked by Xcfd132 at 0.4cM and by Xgdm36 at 1.8cM. Screening of BAC-based physical maps of chromosome 6D of Chinese Spring wheat and Ae. tauschii coupled with high resolution genetic and Radiation Hybrid mapping identified nine candidate genes co-segregating with H13. Candidate gene validation was done on an EMS-mutagenized TILLING population of 2,296 M₃ lines in Molly. Twenty seeds per line were screened for susceptibility to the H13-virulent HF GP biotype. Sequencing of candidate genes from twenty-eight independent susceptible mutants identified three nonsense, and 24 missense mutants for CNL-1 whereas only silent and intronic mutations were found in other candidate genes. 5’ and 3’ RACE was performed to identify gene structure and CDS of CNL-1 from Molly (H13H13) and Newton (h13h13). Increased transcript levels were observed for H13 gene during incompatible interactions at larval feeding stages of GP biotype. The predicted coding sequence of H13 gene is 3,192 bp consisting of two exons with 618 bp 5’UTR and 2,260 bp 3’UTR. It translates into a protein of 1063 amino acids with an N-terminal Coiled-Coil (CC), a central Nucleotide-Binding adapter shared by APAF-1, plant R and CED-4 (NB-ARC) and a C-terminal Leucine-Rich Repeat (LRR) domain. Conserved domain analysis revealed shared domains in Molly and Newton, except for differences in sequence, organization and number of LRR repeat in Newton. Also, the presence of a transposable element towards the C terminal of h13 was indicative of interallelic recombination, recent tandem duplications and gene conversions in the CNL rich region near H13 locus. Comparative analysis of candidate genes in the H13 region indicated that gene duplications in CNL encoding genes during divergence of wheat and barley led to clustering and diversity. This diversity among CNL genes may have a role in defining differences in the recognition specificities of NB-LRR encoding genes. Allele mining for the H13 gene in the core collection of Ae. tauschii and hexaploid wheat cultivars identified different functional haplotypes. Screening of these haplotypes using different HF biotypes would help in the identification of the new sources of resistance to control evolving biotypes of HF. Cloning of H13 will provide perfect markers to breeders for HF resistance breeding programs. It will also provide an opportunity to study R-Avr interactions in the hitherto unexplored field of insect-host interaction.

Submitted by Johnsson Rodrigo (r.johnsson@gmail.com) on 2013-09-02T12:08:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ROBERTA.pdf: 21017159 bytes, checksum: 41e6a847bf3ae9866b8f2160a17c81bf (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Alda Lima da Silva(sivalda@ufba.br) on 2013-09-26T18:00:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ROBERTA.pdf: 21017159 bytes, checksum: 41e6a847bf3ae9866b8f2160a17c81bf (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-26T18:00:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ROBERTA.pdf: 21017159 bytes, checksum: 41e6a847bf3ae9866b8f2160a17c81bf (MD5) / CNPq, FAPESB / O gênero Mussismilia (M. hispida, M. harttii e M. braziliensis) é endêmico do litoral brasileiro e inclui as principais espécies de corais construtores. Estudos com a carcinofauna associada à Mussismilia são escassos e restritos a M. hispida no setor sudeste. Dentre os organismos registrados em associação com M. hispida, destacam-se os caranguejos-de-galha e copépodes sifonostomatóides. Para todo Atlântico, são registrados apenas cinco gêneros de Cryptochiridae (Decapoda, Brachyura) (Detocarcinus, Cecidocarcinus, Opecarcinus, Troglocarcinus e Kroppcarcinus – o último, recentemente descrito). Para o Brasil, considerando os dados da literatura, três espécies são registradas para a costa brasileira: Opecarcinus hypostegus, Troglocarcinus corallicola e Kroppcarcinus siderastreicola. Uma nova espécie de Troglocarcinus, gênero até então monoespecífico, foi encontrada em associação às espécies de Mussismilia no litoral da Bahia. Troglocarcinus n. sp. difere de sua congênere por (1) possuir numerosos espinhos bem desenvolvidos na carapaça (delimitando as regiões protogástrica e mesogástrica), pelo (2) segmento basal da antênula (que não se estende até o pedúnculo ocular), pela (3) presença de cerdas no esternito do primeiro pereópodo e, finalmente, pelo (4) terceiro pleópodo da fêmea unirreme ou birreme. Para a inclusão da nova espécie, foi necessária a elaboração de uma emenda na diagnose do gênero. No Atlântico Sul, a família Entomolepididae (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida) está representada apenas por Spongiopsyllus. Uma nova espécie de Spongiopsyllus foi encontrada em amostras de Mussismilia hispida provenientes da Praia da Boa Viagem, na Baía de Todos-os-Santos. Spongiopsyllus n. sp. se distingue de S. adventicius pela redução no número de segmentos da antênula, ornamentação do endópodo da antena e pela cerdação do maxilípede e da P1. Spongiopsyllus n. sp. é o segundo registro do gênero para o Atlântico Sul e a primeira ocorrência da família associada com Scleractinia. Adicionalmente, foi elaborada uma chave de identificação para todas as espécies de Entomolepididae. O inventário da biodiversidade marinha na Província Brasileira ainda é incipiente. Deste modo, os resultados obtidos no presente estudo contribuem ao conhecimento da carcinofauna, com ênfase às formas associadas de hábito críptico, revelando que novas espécies e ocorrências geográficas permanecem amplamente desconhecidas pela comunidade acadêmica e científica. / Salvador

Submitted by MARCIA ROVADOSCHI (marciar@unifra.br) on 2018-08-16T20:15:48Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_RodrigoGripaMadalosso.pdf: 2302258 bytes, checksum: fa35fdc256607b2346f7635273a0d2c1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T20:15:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_RodrigoGripaMadalosso.pdf: 2302258 bytes, checksum: fa35fdc256607b2346f7635273a0d2c1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-07 / The soybeans in Brazil stands out as a major grain grown throughout the country both in the economic and social point of view, as nutritional. However, there are several limiting factors for its production, such as diseases caused by nematodes, primarily the species of the genus Meloidogyne sp. that prevent the production in infested areas. In order to find new alternatives for protection and control of this disease, this study aimed to determine the nematicide activity of Melaleuca alternifolia oil in its pure form and associated with the solid lipid nanocarriers. Appropriate methodologies were employed in 24 well microtiter plates for determination of nematicidal activity in vitro and in vivo. It was found that both the pure essential oil as its form nanostructured showed nematicidal potential in vitro, however, at different times of action. The nematicide action of nanoparticles has also been observed in vivo at different times. All concentrations showed activity and results similar action with the Abamectin, the conventional treatment. In this sense, this paper presents for the first time the action nanoparticles containing M. alternifolia in the treatment / prevention of infections Melodogyne sp .. / A soja se destaca no Brasil como um dos principais grãos cultivados em todo território nacional tanto no ponto de vista econômico e social, quanto nutricional. Entretanto, vários são os fatores limitantes para sua produção, como por exemplo, as doenças causadas por fitonematóides, principalmente, as espécies do gênero Meloidogyne sp. que inviabilizam a produção nas áreas infestadas. A fim de encontrar novas alternativas de proteção e controle desta doença, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo determinar a atividade nematicida do óleo de Melaleuca alternifolia em sua forma pura e associado à nanocarreadores lipídicos sólidos. Empregaram-se metodologias adaptadas em placas de poliestireno de 24 poços para determinação da atividade nematicida in vitro e in vivo. Verificou-se que tanto o óleo essencial puro quanto a sua forma nanoestruturada apresentaram potencial nematicida in vitro, no entanto, em tempos diferentes de ação. A ação nematicida das nanopartículas também foi observada in vivo em diferentes tempos. Todas as concentrações apresentaram atividade e resultados similares de ação com a Abamectina, o tratamento convencional. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho apresenta pela primeira vez a ação de nanopartículas contendo M. alternifolia no tratamento/prevenção de infecções por Melodogyne sp..

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Entomology / Ming-Shun Chen / C. Michael Smith / The tools for arthropods with sucking-mouth parts to attack hosts are mainly in the saliva. For plant-sucking insects, these salivary secretions are primarily produced in the salivary glands. Secreted proteins (also referred to as salivary gland secretomes) are among the important components in the saliva of sucking insects. Gall midges (Cecidomyiidae), a large family of plant-sucking insects, apparently secrete proteins (some of them are effector proteins) into host tissues, inducing various forms of plant outgrowth (galls). Three major insect pest species in the genera Mayetiola, the stem gall midges, are known to produce saliva that can reprogram plant cells and manipulate the host plant growth, causing serious damage to the plants of small grains. The three pest species are the Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor), the barley midge (Mayetiola hordei), and the oat midge (Mayetiola avenae). Another economically important species of this gall midge family is the wheat midge (Sitodiplosis mosellana). It is a major insect pest of spring wheat and feeds on wheat heads, causing damage to the developing wheat seeds. A global analysis of the salivary gland secretome of first instar larvae of the Hessian fly, (a member of Mayetiola and) a model species for studying insect-plant interactions, has previously revealed a large number of genes encoding Secreted Salivary Gland Proteins, so called SSGPs. For comparison, we conducted analyses on transcripts encoding SSGPs from salivary glands of the first instar larvae of the wheat midge, barley midge, and oat midge. In the first chapter, a transcriptomic analysis of wheat midge has been conducted. In this analysis, a total of 3,500 cDNA clones were sequenced, and 1,301 high quality sequences were obtained and approximately 25% of the cDNAs (with high quality sequences) encoded SSGPs. The SSGPs were grouped into 97 groups based on sequence homology. Among the SSGP-encoding transcripts, 206 encoded unique proteins with no sequence similarity to any known protein and 29 encoded proteins similar to known proteins including proteases, serpines, thioesterases, ankryins, and feritins. The compositions of SSGP transcripts from the wheat midge were then compared with that of Hessian fly. The analyses have identified many common characteristics between the species. Despite these commonalities, no sequence similarity was found between SSGPs from wheat midge and those from Hessian fly, suggesting that SSGPs from these two insect species perform different functions to manipulate host plants. The second chapter contains results of comparative transcriptomic analyses on the barley and oat midges. A total of 2570 cDNA clones were sequenced from the barley midge, and 743 were high quality cDNA sequences, and the analysis identified 458 cDNA clones encoding SSGPs, of these, 178 encoded unique proteins (also called unigenes). Transcripts encoding SSGPs were grouped into 51 groups based on sequence homology. A total of 3226 cDNA clones were sequenced from oat midge, and 718 cDNA sequences were high quality and used for further analysis. The analysis identified 450 cDNA clones encoding SSGPs. Among the SSGP-encoding transcripts, 194 are unigenes, which were placed into 50 groups. The compositions of SSGP transcripts from the barley and oat midges were then compared with that of Hessian fly. The analysis identified five groups containing 102 (57.3%) unigenes from barley midges and seven groups containing 107 (55.1%) unigenes from oat midges which encode SSGPs that are conserved among the three species. The SSGPs conserved among the three midges are from family one (SSGP-1), family 4 (SSGP-4), family 11 (SSGP-11), and family 71 (SSGP-71). The SSGPs conserved among the three species indicate conserved functions such as a role in plant manipulation. Some SSGP unigenes were found to be conserved between only two species. Specifically, there were eight gene groups which are conserved between two species. Within these eight groups 19 (10.7%) unigenes from the barley midge and 25 (12.9%) unigenes from the oat midge were found to be conserved between only the barley and oat midges, whereas no homologues have been found in the Hessian fly. The remaining unigenes encode SSGPs that are unique to different midge species. The highly divergent SSGP groups that have been identified with no homology among the three midges indicate potential roles of these SSGPs in host specification. Due to the important roles of effector proteins in insect-plant interactions for gall midge species and since no insect effector protein have been identified directly from infested plant tissues so far, I have chosen one of the SSGP family, SSGP-1, which are conserved among all three gall midge species, for further analysis in chapter 4. Members in family SSGP-1 are also the most abundantly expressed at the transcript level. Based on Hessian fly data, family 1 contains seven genes and are named SSGP-1A1, SSGP-1A2, SSGP-1B1, SSGP-1C1, SSGP-1C2, SSGP-1D1, and SSGP-1E1. To detect the presence of these proteins in the infested wheat tissues, and to identify probable targets from wheat that interact with the SSGPs in the feeding site, we have generated and purified recombinant proteins for five of the seven proteins, namely SSGP-1A2, SSGP-1B1, SSGP-1C1, SSGP-1D1, and SSGP-1E1 (since SSGP-1A1 and SSGP-1C2 are very similar to SSGP-1A2 and SSGP-1C1, respectively). Antibodies were produced for the recombinant proteins for western blot analyses and indirect immunostaining. Immunostaining on dissected tissues including salivary glands, guts, and Malpighian tubules from 3-day old larvae, was conducted with antibodies against the five SSGPs, and detected a specific localization of all proteins in salivary glands except SSGP-1E1, which exhibited a weak signal in the foregut, in addition to localization in salivary glands. Western blot analyses demonstrated that these five proteins were expressed in larvae at all stages. The continuous production of these proteins suggests that they play roles in initiation and maintenance in Hessian fly infestation. Consistent with their effector functions, these five proteins were detected for the first time in infested wheat tissues based on western blot analyses. To identify possible target proteins from host plants that interact with SSGP-1 family proteins, in vitro pull-down assays were performed. Putative interacting targets for SSGP-1A2, SSGP-1B1, and SSGP-1C1 have been identified by LC-MS/MS. These putative interaction target proteins included uncharacterized proteins, ribosomal proteins, a lipoxygenase, and a tubulin. Identification of these putative targets provided a base for further confirmation of their interaction with Hessian fly effectors in the future.

Este trabalho teve como objetivos estudar aspectos da morfologia, biologia e ecologia de Epichrysocharis burwelli, uma micro-vespa recentemente introduzida no Brasil e que induz galhas em folhas de Corymbia citriodora. Foram verificados neste trabalho, porcentagem média de infestação de galhas em folhas, horário de emergência e longevidade de adultos, razão sexual e caracterização do macho, duração do período de desenvolvimento, sazonalidade de adultos, nível de infestação no campo e influência da pilosidade de folhas sobre a ocorrência de galhas e adultos. Além disso, a influência da formação de galhas sobre o rendimento de óleo essencial de C. citriodora foi verificada. 65% das folhas avaliadas apresentaram algum grau de infestação de galhas de E. burwelli, com uma densidade média de sete galhas/cm2, variando entre 0,04 e 44,10 galhas/cm2. Foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre as árvores avaliadas quanto ao nível de infestação de galhas nas folhas. O período da manhã foi o preferencial para a emergência de adultos, com um pico às 9:00 horas. A longevidade da espécie foi significativamente maior quando o mel foi incorporado à dieta, tanto com água como com folhas jovens de C. citriodora. A razão sexual encontrada foi de 165 fêmeas para cada macho e não foram encontradas diferenças entre os sexos além dos caracteres sexuais da genitália e uma pequena estrutura na antena do macho, visível apenas sob microscópio. A duração total do ciclo, de ovo a adulto é de aproximadamente 75 dias em condições de campo. As galhas passam por cinco estágios de crescimento, que provavelmente são acompanhados por mudanças no estágio de vida do inseto. Os adultos ocorrem durante todo o ano e sua ocorrência está relacionada com a liberação de ramos novos pela planta. A espécie é multivoltina e ocorre sobreposição de gerações. A pilosidade das folhas quando a planta se encontra no estágio juvenil funciona como uma barreira mecânica para a oviposição do adulto e teve influência significativamente negativa sobre a ocorrência desses e a formação de galhas. Altos níveis de galhas nas folhas causam efeito significativamente negativo sobre o rendimento de óleo essencial das folhas de C. citriodora, que ainda é potencializado devido à queda prematura de folhas, quando estas estão sob altas infestações. A pesquisa permitiu ter um maior conhecimento sobre aspectos da biologia e ecologia da espécie que podem auxiliar no manejo desta em condições de campo, além de quantificar a redução de óleo causada pela presença das galhas. / This research deals with aspects of morphology, biology and ecology of Epichrysocaris burwelli a micro-wasp inducing galls on leaves of Corymbia citriodora, and recently introduced in Brazil. The following parameters were studied: percentage of galls on the leaf, time of adult emergence, adult longevity, sex ratio and characterization of the male, duration of the developmental period, seasonal occurrence of adults, level of infestation in the field and the influence of leaf hairs on the occurrence of galls and adults. The influence of galls on the yield of C.citriodora oil was studied as well. From the total of leaves evaluated, 65% presented galls ranging between 0.04 and 44.10 galls/cm2, with a mean density of 7 galls per square centimeter. One also observed significant differences among the evaluated trees as to the number of galls on the leaves. Adult emergence occurred during the morning hours, with a peak at 9 am and adult longevity was longer when honey solution was available. The sex ratio was 165 females: 1 male. The external morphology of the genitalia and a microscopic structure in the male antenna were the only differences between the sexes. The life cycle, from egg to adult, lasted 75 days in field conditions. The galls presented five growing stages which probably are related to the changes in the immature insect periods. The adults are seen all year round and such occurrence is related to the continuous flushing of sprouts by the plant. This insect species is multivoltine and thus present overlapping generations. Young plants present hairy leaves acting as a mechanical barrier to oviposition, preventing the occurrence of adults and galls. The yield of C.corymbia oil leaves is negatively affected not only by the high levels of gall infestation but also by the following premature defoliation.

This thesis investigates a range of genealogical approaches to making quantitative inferences about the spatial and demographic history of populations with application to two insect systems: A local radiation of high alpine ground beetles (Carabidae) in the genus Trechus and major refugial populations of the oak gall parasitoid Cecidostiba fungosa (Pteromalidae). i) Summary statistics, which make explicit use of genealogical information are developed. Using simulations their power to detect a history of population growth is shown to be higher than that of standard measures such as Tajima’s D for single and multilocus data. The improvement arises from the fact that in contrast to pairwise measures, the new statistics are minimally confounded with the topology. ii) A Bayesian method to reconstructing character states is used to infer the Pleistocene history of populations of high alpine Trechus sampled along a singlemountain range frommitochondrial and nuclear data. Despite evidence for some incomplete lineage sorting, a simple model of a series of extreme founder events out of two refugia during or before the last glacial maximum provides a good fit to the data. iii) A large set of exon-primed, intron-spanning (EPIC) loci is developed for Hymenoptera from EST and genomic data. Amplification success is screened on a range of Hymenopteran species associated with two insect-plant interactions: Oak galls and figs. iv) Borrowing model-based approaches developed to quantify species divergence, the new EPIC loci are used to investigate the relationships between three major European refugia in the oak gall parasitoid C. fungosa. These analyses reveal strong support for an eastern origin, effective ancestral population sizes comparable to insect model species and evidence for recent population divergence during the last interglacial. The results also suggest that there is significant information in minimal samples provided a large number of loci are available. v) Results for the probability of gene tree topologies are derived for a model of divergence with gene flow between three populations. I outline how the asymmetries in the frequency of gene tree topologies may be used to distinguish incomplete lineage sorting from migration and discuss the results in the context of next generation sequence data from D. melanogaster and humans and Neanderthals.