Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-177).

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Limnephilidae is a large family within Trichoptera, consisting of 4 subfamilies (Dicosmoecinae, Ecclisomyiinae, Limnephilinae, and Philocascinae), 98 genera, and 1178 species. It is among the most diverse families within Trichoptera. It is also ecologically diverse, occupying more habitats than any other family in the order. There are currently no published generic phylogenies of Limnephilidae based on molecular data. Here we used anchored hybrid enrichment to capture and sequence 922 loci for 57 species taken from what have been considered the full range of genera in the family. We expanded the taxon sampling by adding supplementary species with DNA barcodes, 28S sequences, or containing both from other sources. We present a favored tree from the collected data. We examine the evolutionary patterns associated with larval habitat transitions and highlight instances where our preferred evolutionary tree is incongruent with current limnephilid classification.

This study investigated the diet and growth of a leaf-eating caddisfly, Pycnopsyche, in streams draining a >60 year-old reference forest and a 16-year-old c1earcut (disturbed) forest at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in southwestern North Carolina. The objective was to examine whether Pycnopsyche larvae grew better on fast-decaying leaf types more prevalent in the disturbed streams (e.g., black birch) because leaf-eating insects (shredders) in a previous study were more productive in these streams despite having less food available. Larvae consumed mostly unidentified plant material in streams of both forest types over three seasons (fall, winter, and spring) which suggested larvae did not consume higher quality foods (e.g., algae) in disturbed streams. When fed 2-mo "conditioned" black birch and white oak leaves, lab experiment larvae grew significantly faster on birch leaves. However, when larvae were fed the same leaf types after 3 mo of conditioning, larvae grew significantly faster on oak leaves. A field growth experiment conducted for 42 d using leaf diets representative of both forest types and conditioned for 2 mo found Pycnopsyche grew better on the diet representative of the reference forest. found Pycnopsyche grew better on the diet representative of the reference forest. / Master of Science