September 12, 2025

David Hembry, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, James Madison University

Macroevolution and persistence of insect-plant mutualisms

We live in a biosphere pervaded by mutualisms, although theory suggests that mutualisms should be vulnerable to both breakdown and species loss. These problems may be especially acute for highly specialized mutualisms. Here I use both phylogenetic comparative methods and species interaction networks to examine the macroevolutionary persistence of a specialized brood pollination mutualism between leafflower plants (Phyllanthaceae) and leafflowermoths (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae: Epicephala), which are both pollinators and seed predators of their host plants

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM | Gilmer Hall Auditorium 390