Understanding the interaction between plants and seed predatory insects in tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia using DNA barcoding

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26840150
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University (2017); Tokyo Metropolitan University (2014-2016)
• Principal Investigator: Hosaka Tetsuro 広島大学, 国際協力研究科, 准教授 (50626190)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 熱帯雨林 / 一斉開花 / 生物間相互作用 / 生物多様性 / 国際情報交換 / マレーシア / シンガポール

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Weevil larvae are major pests on seeds of dipterocarps, which dominate tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia. However, species composition of the seed weevils are still unclear due to difficulty in obtaining adult samples by rearing. This study aimed to identify all the weevil species on dipterocarp seeds using DNA barcoding.
We found a new group of Curculio weevils as one of the major dipterocarp seed predators besides Alcidodes and nanophyid weevils already known. Comparing phylogeny of weevils and dipterocarps, we found that species composition of weevils were distinct among dipterocarp genera.

Free Research Field

生態学、昆虫学