| coevolution and divergence in the joshua tree/yucca moth mutualism. | theory suggests that coevolution drives diversification in obligate pollination mutualism, but it has been difficult to disentangle the effects of coevolution from other factors. we test the hypothesis that differential selection by two sister species of pollinating yucca moths (tegeticula spp.) drove divergence between two varieties of the joshua tree (yucca brevifolia) by comparing measures of differentiation in floral and vegetative features. we show that floral features associated with polli ... | 2008 | 18462130 |
| species identification and sibship assignment of sympatric larvae in the yucca moths tegeticula synthetica and tegeticula antithetica (lepidoptera: prodoxidae). | ecological interactions between yucca moths (tegeticula, prodoxidae) and their host plants (yucca, agavaceae) are exemplary of obligate plant-pollinator mutualism and co-evolution. we describe a multiplex microsatellite dna protocol for species identification and sibship assignment of sympatric larvae from tegeticula synthetica and tegeticula antithetica, pollinators of the joshua tree (yucca brevifolia). bayesian clustering provides correct diagnosis of species in 100% of adult moths, with unam ... | 2009 | 21564909 |
| Comparative phylogeography of a coevolved community: concerted population expansions in Joshua trees and four yucca moths. | Comparative phylogeographic studies have had mixed success in identifying common phylogeographic patterns among co-distributed organisms. Whereas some have found broadly similar patterns across a diverse array of taxa, others have found that the histories of different species are more idiosyncratic than congruent. The variation in the results of comparative phylogeographic studies could indicate that the extent to which sympatrically-distributed organisms share common biogeographic histories var ... | 2011 | 22028785 |
| yucca brevifolia fruit production, predispersal seed predation, and fruit removal by rodents during two years of contrasting reproduction. | the distribution of yucca brevifolia, a keystone species of the mojave desert, may contract with climate change, yet reproduction and dispersal are poorly understood. we tracked reproduction, seed predation, and fruit dispersal for two years and discuss whether y. brevifolia is a masting species. | 2016 | 27208351 |