Studies on Ant Systematics

小行星9419242 这个项目的目的是提高我们对蚂蚁生物学和分类学的理解。 该项目的一部分集中在Pseudomyrmex属，这是一组在新世界热带地区常见和广泛分布的蚂蚁。根据形态特征对拟小蚁属的种进行区分，对新种进行描述和命名，编制种间鉴别检索表，并分析种间的历史和生物学关系。 因为这些蚂蚁被限制在新大陆的热带地区，它们的历史可能会告诉我们一些关于中美洲和南美洲的地理历史。 此外，许多Pseudomyrmex物种与专门的植物生活在亲密的互利关系中：植物为蚂蚁提供庇护所，蚂蚁反过来保护它们的“宿主植物”免受以植物为食的昆虫和脊椎动物的侵害。 一个改进的分类将有助于我们了解这些共生协会与植物的起源。 它还可以为我们如何操纵蚂蚁种群来保护对人类具有经济重要性的植物提供线索。 该项目的第二部分涉及研究统称为“poneroid组”的分类和关系。 这个群体中的蚂蚁显示出惊人的生物或生态系统角色：有些是食腐动物，有些是掠食者，有些胆小，有些贪婪（例如行军蚁）。 一个物种的亚群甚至由“农业”蚂蚁组成，它们在巢穴中培养真菌作为食物。 第二项研究的目的是提高我们对这些蚂蚁的系统知识，并构建一个分类，准确地总结了该组成员之间的关系。 目前存在的分类被认为是有缺陷的，因为最近的证据表明，一些亚科，族和属是人工分组的物种组合，定义的字符是表面的性质，而不是反映物种之间的历史关系。 在这项研究中，以及第一，主要的数据来源是形态学;分类的改进将使我们更好地了解这个不同的蚂蚁群体的生态和行为。 这项研究将有助于我们了解热带蚂蚁的生物多样性。 蚂蚁是生态系统的重要组成部分，从人类经济学的角度来看，它包括几个有益的成员以及少数被认为是有害的成员。 ***

9419242 WARD The purpose of this project is to enhance our understanding of ant biology and taxonomy. One part of the project focuses on the genus Pseudomyrmex, a group of ants which are common and widespread in the New World tropics. The species of Pseudomyrmex will be distinguished from one another on the basis of morphology, new species will be described and given names, keys for species identification will be developed, and the historical and biological relationships among species will be analyzed. Because these ants are confined to the New World tropics their histories may tell us something about the geographical history of Central and South America. Moreover, many Pseudomyrmex species live in intimate, mutually beneficial associations with specialized plants: the plants provide shelter for the ants and the ants in return protect their "host plant" from plant-feeding insects and vertebrates. An improved classification of Pseudomyrmex ants will help us understand how these symbiotic associations with plants originate. It could also provide clues as to how we might manipulate ant populations to protect plants of economic importance to man. A second part of this project involves studying the classification and relationships which are collectively known as the "poneroid group". The ants in this group display an amazing range of biological or ecosystem roles: some are scavengers, some are predators, some timid and some rapacious (e.g. army ants). One subgroup of species is even comprised of "agricultural" ants that culture fungi in their nests for food. The aim of this second study is to improve our systematic knowledge of these ants and to construct a classification which accurately summarizes the relationships among members of the group. The currently existing classification is believed to be deficient because of recent evidence that some of the subfamilies, tribes and genera are artificially grouped assemblages of species, defined by characters that are superficial in nature and not reflective of the historical relationships among the species. In this study, as well as the first, the primary source of data to be used is morphology; the resulting improvement in classification will give us better insight into the ecology and behavior of this diverse group of ants. %%% This study will contribute to our understanding of tropical biodiversity of ants. Ants are important components of ecosystems and, in terms of human economics, include several members that are beneficial as well as those few that are considered pests. ***