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

博士生拜伦·亚历山大（Byron Alexander）建议利用文献、博物馆参观和借来的收藏品中的形态学数据，研究野田蜂属（Nomada）的祖先-后代关系。他的导师乔治·艾克沃特（George Eickwort）是社会昆虫研究领域的领军人物。社会行为和寄生行为都是从该属的筑巢祖先进化而来的，目前尚不清楚是1)社会物种是属内的一个单独的进化分支，还是2)社会行为独立进化了几次。为这一群体建立一个完善的进化框架将为评估这些选择提供手段。行为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。拟议的研究可以产生实质性的影响，而不仅仅是研究这个分类单元的专家小组。

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.