Basic ecological study on the adaptation of swallowtail butterfly to host plant, and its application to investigation learning in science education.

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25350247
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Science education
• Research Institution: Kyoto University of Education
• Principal Investigator: Imai Kensuke 京都教育大学, 教育学部, 准教授 (80447888)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): MURAKAMI Tadayuki 京都教育大学, 教育学部, 教授 (20314297)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: アゲハチョウ / 寄主植物 / 進化生態学 / 理科教育 / 教材 / 昆虫 / 外来植物 / 探究学習

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Structural and behavioral adaptations of living beings can provide much opportunity of learning science, but, in Japan, are not sufficiently used for education. Researchers of science education and evolutionary ecology collaborated to start new basic studies to propose new material for investigation learning.
We revealed why larvae of Asian swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus escape from native host plant citrus, when first reared on common rue Ruta graveolens and then replaced to citrus. It was suggested, when reared on R. graveolens, larvae become unable to consume mature citrus leaves harder than those of R. graveolens. We also suggested that P. xuthus of Japan is not yet perfectly adapted to R. graveolens, which is introduced to Japan in middle of the 19th century, by measuring efficiency of digestion and absorption, rate of food consumption, and feeding behavior. From our results of basic studies, several materials for investigation learning were proposed.

Free Research Field

生態学