Dissertation Research: A Case Study of the Relationship Between Ontogeny and Phylogeny: The Phylogenetic Relationships of Sepsidae (Diptera)

9310600 Wheeler对脓毒蝇科（昆虫亚目：双翅目）进行了系统发育分析。分析将包括三个很大程度上独立的数据集，包括卵，幼虫和成虫的形态特征。幼虫性状将用于检验确定性状转化序列极性的“个体发生标准”。Hennig（1966）基于字符优先的传统版本将与Nelson（1978）基于一般性的规则进行比较。由卵和成人字符组成的独立数据集将用于判断个体发生标准还是外群体比较对字符极性的预测更准确。物种个体发生将被映射到来自卵和成体特征的进化图上，允许直接研究个体发生在系统发育时间中的变化，以及广泛讨论的现象，如插入、替换和状态缺失。亚利桑那大学正在进行一项关于脓毒杆菌科动物交配行为和精子竞争的研究；由此产生的特征将被映射到进化图上，以便了解为什么在Sepsidae中，交配前保护明显地独立进化了几次。脓毒科是一科苍蝇，它的许多成员在牛粪和其他腐烂的物质中产卵和发育。该项目将利用卵、幼虫和成虫特征的独立数据集来分析所有属和科中约一半物种之间的关系。由此产生的框架将用于解决有趣行为的起源，如雄性在产卵地点保护雌性。* * *

9310600 Wheeler A phylogenetic analysis of the family Sepsidae (Insecta: Diptera) is proposed. The analysis will comprise three largely independent data sets consisting of egg, larval and adult morphological characters. The larval characters will be used to test the "ontogenetic criterion" for determining the polarity of character transformation series. Hennig's (1966) traditional version based on character precedence will be compared with Nelson's (1978) rule based on generality. The independent data set composed of egg and adult characters will be used to judge whether the ontogenetic criterion or outgroup comparison makes more accurate predictions about character polarity. Species ontogenies will be mapped onto the cladogram derived from egg and adult characters, allowing the direct study of changes in ontogeny over phylogenetic time, and the prevalence of widely discussed phenomena like insertions, substitutions, and deletions of states. A study of mating behavior and sperm competition in Sepsidae is under way at the University of Arizona; resulting characters will be mapped onto the cladogram in order to gain an understanding of why precopulatory guarding apparently evolved several times independently within the Sepsidae. %%% The Sepsidae are a family of flies with many of its members ovipositing and developing in cow dung as well as other decaying materials. This project will utilize independent data sets of egg, larval and adult characters to analyze relationships among all of the genera and about half of the species in the family. The resulting framework will be used to address the origins of interesting behaviors such a male guarding of females at the oviposition sites. ***