RPG: Phylogeny and Biogeography of Oedionychina (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

（9707544）Duckett RPG 跳甲亚族Oedionychina（鞘翅目：跳甲科：跳甲亚科）是一个大型的进化自然类群，共有24属，主要分布于南美洲、非洲和印度（古冈瓦纳大陆减去澳大利亚）。 这些属之间的进化关系还不清楚，尽管在亚族中存在经济上重要的物种。 俄狄奥尼中国也是 唯一明确定义的超属蚤甲虫群，分布在一个以上的大陆。 因此，这一类群的植物地理对于阐明跳甲的起源具有重要价值 以及跳蚤甲虫在新大陆热带地区的巨大辐射。 Oedionychina使用现代分支系统学方法的进化分析将进行调查的扩散和大陆漂移的作用，目前分布的属。特别令人感兴趣的是新世界和旧世界属之间的关系，以及它们的进化历史与它们分布地区的年龄和已知进化历史的一致性。 将测试两个现有的假设，这些甲虫的进化，其中一个坚持认为，他们在冈瓦纳进化和一些群体在非洲和南美洲多样化后，大陆分离;另一个坚持认为，这一组在南美洲进化，后来通过水分散到非洲和印度。 这些结果对双折射形成理论有重要意义。 对系统发育关系缺乏系统的了解，部分原因是依赖于昆虫外骨骼的传统特征。 这些特征将与幼年阶段的形态和发育特征以及雌性生殖器和口部的专门感觉结构的分析相结合。作为这项研究的结果，用于跳甲进化研究的特征种类将得到扩展。 细胞遗传学的数据也将被整合到分析中，以提供更强大的数据集。 此外，甲虫的自然历史，这是完全未知的99%的物种将被记录和样本，用于以后的DNA分析将被收集。 在此期间，PI将进行一次收集和饲养之旅，前往巴西南部，在那里发现了24个属中的12个。这次考察的工作将测试和完善幼鱼阶段的饲养和采集技术，为利用扫描电子显微镜（口感器官）进行初步分析提供分类群，并探索从未在科中使用过的性状系统在进化分析中的用途。 将对收集到的成虫和幼虫进行形态学准备和分析;如果这些特征系统提供了良好的系统发育分辨率，将计划在南美洲北方和非洲使用这些系统进行研究，以完成必要的分类学取样，从而了解俄狄奥尼亚人的进化，并检验冈万底亚动物群进化的假设

(9707544) Duckett RPG The flea beetle sub-tribe, Oedionychina (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) is a large evolutionarily natural group of 24 genera distributed primarily is South America, Africa and India (the ancient continent of Gonwana minus Australia). The evolutionary relationships among these genera are not understood despite the presence of economically important species in the sub-tribe. Oedionychina is also the only clearly defined suprageneric group of flea beetles that is distributed in more than one continent. Therefore, the biogeography of this group will be of value in elucidating the origins of the flea beetles and the great radiation of flea beetle in the new world tropics. An evolutionary analysis of the Oedionychina using modern cladistic methods will be performed with the aim of investigating the role of dispersal and continental drift in the current distribution of the genera. Of special interest are the relationships among the New World and Old World genera and the congruence of their evolutionary histories to the age and known evolutionary histories of the areas where they are distributed.This study will test two existing hypotheses of the evolution of the these beetles one which maintains that they evolved in Gonwana and some groups diversified in Africa and South America after the continents separated; the other maintains that this group evolved in South America and later dispersed over water to Africa and India. These results are important to the theory of the formation of biotas. The lack of systematic understanding of phylogenetic relationships is in part because of reliance on traditional characters of the insect exoskeleton. These characters will be combined with analysis of morphological and developmental characters from juvenile stages as well as female genitalia and the specialized sensory structures of the mouth. As a result of this study the kinds of characters used for evolutionary studies of the flea beetles will be expanded. Existin g data on cytogenetics will also be integrated into the analysis to provide a more powerful data set. Additionally, the natural history of the beetles, which is totally unknown in 99% of the species will be documented and samples for later analysis of DNA will be collected. During this planning grant the PI will conduct a collecting and rearing trip to southern Brazil where 12 of the 24 genera are found is proposed. Work done on this trip will test and perfect rearing and collecting techniques of juvenile stages, provide taxa for initial analsysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (mouth sense organs) and explore the utility of character systems which have never been used in the Chrysomelidae for evolutionary analysis. The adults and juveniles collected will be prepared and analyzed morphologically; if these character systems provide good phylogenetic resolution, research using these systems will be planned in northern South America and Africa to complete the taxonomic sampling necessary for an understanding of the evolution of the Oedionychina and to test hypotheses of the evolution of the Gonwandian fauna