Dissertation Research: A Subgeneric Revision of the Genus Nomada (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae)

博士生拜伦亚历山大建议研究蜜蜂属内的祖先后代关系，使用从文献，博物馆参观，并从借来的收藏品的形态数据。他的导师，乔治艾克沃特，是社会昆虫的主要研究者。社会行为和寄生行为都是从该属的筑巢祖先进化而来的，目前还不清楚1）社会物种是该属内一个独立的进化分支，还是2）社会行为已经独立进化了几次。为这一群体建立一个完善的演变框架将为评估这些替代办法提供手段。行为的进化是生物学的一个重要方面，某些昆虫（如蜜蜂）的行为可能具有重要的经济意义。拟议中的研究可能会产生实质性的影响，超出了从事这一分类的专家的小社区。

Doctoral student Byron Alexander proposes to study the ancestor-descendant relationships within the bee genus Nomada, using morphological data from the literature, museum visits, and from borrowed collections. His advisor, George Eickwort, is a leading researcher on social insects. Both social and parasitic behavior have evolved from nest-building ancestors in this genus, and it is unclear whether 1) the social species are a separate evolutionary branch within the genus, or 2) social behavior has evolved independently several times. A well-established evolutionary framework for this group would provide the means for assessing these alternatives. The evolution of behavior is an important facet of biology, and behavior of certain insects such as bees can have important economic implications. The proposed research can have subtantial impact beyond the small community of specialists working on this taxon.