Sex pheromone polymorphism in a parasitoid wasp - causes and consequences

• Applicant: Dr. Tamara Pokorny
• Subject Area: Sensory and Behavioural Biology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 499517996

The chemosensory system is considered to play a key role for speciation in many animals. Premating isolation by pheromone divergence and corresponding mate preferences may evolve relatively fast, and thus can lead to population divergence and speciation. However, many studies addressing premating isolation are based on already separated species. This makes it difficult to evaluate the role of chemosensory signals during speciation. Ideally, the topic should be studied on species that show sex pheromone variability between populations, or even within a single population. The proposed project will investigate a species of wasp showing such a within-population variability and mate preferences. The study will include behavioural assays, as well as chemical and molecular analyses between different populations and closely related species to assess the historical origin, the molecular causes and the consequences of the sex pheromone variability. The results will contribute to our understanding of the factors involved in pheromone variation, behavioural isolation, and chemosensory speciation.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants