Systematics Of The New World Grasshopper Subfamily Melanoplinae

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ABSTRACT This research involves a taxonomic revision of grasshoppers of the subfamily Melanoplinae, accounting for 37% of the known species north of Panama in the Americas. This project includes collaborative activities among scientists in the U.S., Argentina, and Mexico, and will generate new collections of material from northern Mexico, Mato Grosso, Brazil, and highlands of Ecuador. Existing classifications of New World grasshoppers are almost all wholly or substantially artificial. Phylogenetic analyses in this study will form the basis for a natural, predictive classification. Special emphasis will be placed on the large and important genus Melanoplus. Described species of this genus account for more than half those of the subfamily and perhaps 20% of American species remain undescribed. The project will result in a clarification of relationships among species groups and genera of the subfamily; production of comprehensive electronic taxonomic "publications" including catalogs and interactive, web accessible diagnostic keys; collection of new specimens and species; an analysis of evolutionary patterns within this diverse group. Accurate identification and predictive classifications for melanopline grasshoppers will be a valuable resource for many biologists. These animals are of interest to a wide range of researchers for several reasons. Among them are documented rates of speciation more rapid than known for any other terrestrial environment. Species of the subfamily annually consume 6-12% of available forage and are serious pests in crops and gardens. Currently, it is difficult to identify species or to distinguish among those that are harmful, beneficial, or neutral with regard to agriculture. Increasingly, these insects are of interest to conservation biologists as well. The reference materials produced will have both research and teaching applications.