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

9700814 Opell Aptostichus是北美最多样化的陷门蜘蛛属。大多数物种都在加利福尼亚州，在该州16个生物区中，它们至少占据了13个，包括沙漠环境。由于这些栖息地中的许多都受到了威胁，对Aptostichus的研究可以极大地有助于理解这些地区的保护生物学和生态学。尽管它的多样性非同寻常，地理和生态分布也很有趣，但这一群体几乎没有受到关注，它估计的25个物种中只有4个被描述过。在这项研究中，布伦特·奥佩尔和博士生杰森·邦德将修改Aptostichus的分类，并测试关于这些物种如何产生的假设。将使用形态和分子(线粒体和核DNA序列)数据来评估该属的系统发育历史和该属内的物种边界。形态数据还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生物地理、物种形成过程和沙漠适应的洞察。这种方法是新颖的，因为它结合了形态和分子方法来研究蜘蛛的物种划分、系统发育历史和自然历史问题。

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.