Dissertation Research: The Evolution of Eusociality in the Aphid Tribe Cerataphidini

eusociality的演变提出了一个主要的悖论， 进化生物学，因为它需要不育的进化， 个体 蚜虫部落Cerataphidini提供了一个理想的 有机会调查eusociality的演变，因为 群是多态的，是一种相对原始的 真社会性，一个生殖不育的“士兵”的生产 种姓 为了研究真社会性的起源，PI将首先 利用DNA重建了角蚜科蚜虫的系统发育 序列数据，然后映射到这个遗传行为， 与士兵种姓进化相关的生态学数据 的 PI将测试士兵进化的几个假设 通过测试这些变量之间的显著关联来确定种姓 和士兵的生产使用最近开发的统计 方法. PI建议返回野外， 已收集了包括蚜虫在内的蚜虫， 这些变量被认为是理解进化的关键 他们的社会行为。 PI将首先对菌落进行采样， 每个物种的遗传分析，以估计平均 殖民地内部和殖民地之间的关系。 既考虑 空间和时间变化，PI将测量 个体的出生率，士兵的生产，蚂蚁的相互作用， 捕食和寄生 获得的信息将是有用的 在理解社会性的基本问题和 它给这群植物带来的种群成败 喂食器

The evolution of eusociality presents a major paradox for evolutionary biology because it requires the evolution of sterile individuals. The aphid tribe Cerataphidini provides an ideal opportunity to investigate the evolution of eusociality because the group is polymorphic for a relatively primitive form of eusociality, the production of a reproductively sterile "soldier" caste. To examine the origins of eusociality, the PIs will first reconstruct a phylogeny for the cerataphidine aphids using DNA sequence data and then map onto this phylogeny behavioral ecological data pertinent to the evolution of a soldier caste. The PIs will test several hypotheses for the evolution of a soldier caste by testing for significant associations among these variables and soldier production using recently developed statistical methods. The PIs propose to return to field sites where species of aphids included in the phylogeny have been collected to measure variables that are believed critical to understanding the evolution of their social behavior. The PIs will first sample colonies of each species for later genetic analysis to estimate the average relatedness within and between colonies. Taking into account both spatial and temporal variation, the PIs will then measure individual birth rates, soldier production, ant interaction, predation and parasitism. The information obtained will be useful in understanding both fundamental questions about sociality and the population success or failure it brings to this group of plant feeders.