Dissertation Research: Evolutionary Consequences of Flightlessness in Longhorn Beetles

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Farrell0073291This project investigates the consequences of wing loss in longhorn beetles over a variety of temporal and spatial scales. DNA variation will be examined in longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) in order to compare population structure, biogeography, and diversification rates between winged and flightless insects. Gene flow will be measured between populations on a variety of spatial scales, and mitochondrial DNA will be examined to resolve the genealogical history of these groups. This information will then used to examine how climate changes during the Pleistocene Epoch, immediately following the last ice age, may have differentially affected the distribution of winged and flightless insects. Information from nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA will be used to establish species limits, contrast levels of endemism between winged and flightless insects, and identify cryptic and/or endangered species or populations. Finally, these genetic data will be compared with information about geologic history to examine the extent to which extrinsic geologic events have played a role in promoting diversification in these two groups. This will in turn improve our understanding of how species are formed and differentiated from one another. In addition to its scientific benefits, this project will improve our understanding of past climate change, which will allow us to make better predictions about the consequences of contemporary climate change due to man-made atmospheric gases.