Dissertation Research: Taxonomy, Systematics, and Evolution of the Trapdoor Spider Genus Aptostichus (Araneae, Cyrtaucheniidae)

小行星9700814 Aptostichus是北美最具多样性的陷门蜘蛛属。 大多数物种都在加州，在那里它们占据了该州16个生物区中的至少13个，包括沙漠环境。 由于许多这些栖息地受到威胁，Aptostichus的研究可以大大有助于了解这些地区的保护生物学和生态学。 尽管其非凡的多样性和有趣的地理和生态分布，这个群体很少受到关注，估计有25个物种中只有4个被描述。 在这项研究中，布伦特奥佩尔和博士候选人贾森邦德将修订Aptostichus的分类，并测试有关这些物种如何出现的假设。 将使用形态学和分子（线粒体和核DNA序列）数据评价该属的系统发育史和该属内的物种边界。 形态学数据也将有助于了解这些蜘蛛的分布，形态特征的变化和自然历史，而序列数据将提供对它们的地理分布，物种形成过程和沙漠适应的见解。 该方法是新颖的，它集成了形态学和分子方法的问题，物种划分，系统发育史，蜘蛛的自然历史。

9700814 OPELL Aptostichus is the most diverse genus of trapdoor spiders in North America. Most species are in California, where they occupy at least 13 of the state's 16 biological regions, including desert environments. Since many of these habitats are threatened, studies of Aptostichus can contribute significantly to an understanding of the conservation biology and ecology of these regions. Despite its extraordinary diversity and interesting geographic and ecological distribution, this group has received little attention and only four of its estimated 25 species have been described. In this research, Brent Opell and doctoral candidate Jason Bond will revise the taxonomy of Aptostichus and test hypotheses about how these species arose. The phylogenetic history of the genus, and species boundaries within the genus, will be evaluated using both morphological and molecular (mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence) data. The morphological data will also contribute to knowledge of the distributions, variations in morphological features, and natural histories of these spiders, while the sequence data will provide insights into their biogeography, speciation processes, and desert adaptations. The approach is novel in that it integrates morphological and molecular approaches to questions of species delineation, phylogenetic history, and natural history in spiders.