Dissertation Research: Generic Revision and Phylogeny of the Dolichoderinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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The goals of this dissertation research project to be performed by Steven O. Shattuck and Professor Philip S. Ward of the University of California at Davis are to define genera within the ant sub-family Dolichoderinae (about 1000 species worldwide, in 31 genera) and attempt to demonstrate their monophyly (having one ancestral origin) based on morphological traits of workers, queens, males, and larvae. Other goals are to analyze cladistic relationships among these groups using rigorous methods of phylogenetic inference, develop a key to all known genera based on the above-mentioned character analysis, and compile a species- level catalog of all taxa (including information on current generic status, type locality, and if available, location and number of type specimens). Preserved material at existing museum collections in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom will be examined for characters suitable for cladistic analysis. Hypotheses about relationships among genera will be evaluated by examining congruence between worker, queen, and male ant data sets and by statistical estimation of cladogram confidence limits. Results will identify natural units for alpha-taxonomic studies, provide a foundation for species-level phylogenetic investigations by elucidating sister-group relationships among genera, and assist in access to the taxonomic literature on the Dolichoderinae.