Systematics, Phylogeny, and Biogeography of Amblyoponini: A Putative Early Lineage of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

这个项目将加强对Amblyoponini的多样性和进化的理解，Amblyoponini是一个假定的原始血统，可能是所有其他现存物种的姐妹群。对这一群体的分析对于努力了解蚂蚁的起源和进化及其社会行为至关重要，由于缺乏关于最原始群体的可靠知识，这一理解严重受阻。在这个项目中，研究人员将在世界Amblyoponini的比较形态研究的基础上完成物种水平的分类修订。作为这一过程的一部分，形态和分子数据将被比较，以推断主要蚂蚁支系之间的系统发育关系。由此产生的系统发育将被用来追踪重要特征的进化，这些特征涉及到群体建立、觅食行为、交流和社会结构。此外，这些系统发育将被用来研究这些蚂蚁在马达加斯加多产辐射的历史生物地理学。

DEB 9981667FisherCalifornia Academy of SciencesThis project will enhance the understanding of the diversity and evolution of the Amblyoponini, a putative primitive lineage, and potentially a sister group of all other extant ants. Analysis of this group is critical to efforts to understand the origin and evolution of ants and their social behavior, an understanding seriously impeded by a lack of robust knowledge about themost primitive groups. In this project, the investigators will complete a species-level taxonomic revision based on comparative morphological studies of world Amblyoponini. As part of this process, morphological and molecular data will be compated to infer the phylogenetic relationships among major ant clades. The resulting phylogeny will be used to trace the evolution of important traits that are involved in colony founding, foraging behavior, communication and social structure. In addition, these phylogenies will be used to investigat eht historical biogeongraphy of these ants with respect to their prolific radiation in Madagascar.