DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Phylogeny and Natural History of the Flanged Bombardier Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Paussinae)

美国国家科学基金会博士论文改进补助金已被授予博士大卫R。亚利桑那大学的麦迪逊和温迪摩尔女士资助了一项研究，这项研究是关于爱蚂蚁的投弹甲虫，也就是所谓的暂停甲虫。投弹甲虫具有显着的化学属性和行为。它们通过在100摄氏度（水的沸点）下排泄有毒化学物质来阻止捕食者。Paussines是仅有的两组投弹手甲虫之一。 许多物种都是蚂蚁的专门客人。 间接证据表明，甲虫可能通过化学物质和基质传播的振动与蚂蚁宿主交流。 成年甲虫生活在它们的宿主蚂蚁巢里，在那里它们以蚂蚁幼虫为食。 雌性甲虫在蚁穴里产卵，蚂蚁把甲虫幼虫当作自己的孩子一样抚养。 作为回报，甲虫排泄出一种未知的物质，蚂蚁会吃掉这种物质。 利用DNA序列数据，受赠者将确定甲虫的轰炸能力是进化了一次还是两次。 他们还将推断出主要群体之间的进化关系模式。 这项工作将导致一个分支图的出版，描绘这些甲虫的进化历史，这将为后续的研究奠定基础，paussine化学和自然历史。 这笔赠款还将帮助资助一个非洲收集考察队，以获得必要的甲虫标本。 在这次访问期间，Wendy摩尔女士将在非洲的大学和自然历史博物馆向各种观众介绍她对小甲虫的研究。 她还帮助招募非洲研究生加入她的领域。 因此，这次考察将促进美国和非洲学术机构之间的关系，并大大加强她的研究生培训。

A NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant has been awarded to Dr. David R. Maddison and Ms. Wendy Moore of the University of Arizona to fund research on ant-loving bombardier beetles, known as paussines. Bombardier beetles have remarkable chemical attributes and behaviors. They deter predators by excreting toxic chemicals at 100 degrees Celsius, the boiling point of water. Paussines are one of only two groups of bombardier beetles. Many paussine species are obligate guests of ants. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the beetles may communicate with their ant hosts via chemicals and substrate borne vibrations. Adult beetles live inside their host ant nests where they feed on ant larvae. Female beetles lay their eggs inside of the ant nest and the ants raise the beetle larvae as if they were their own young. In return, the beetles excrete an unknown substance that the ants consume. Using DNA sequence data, the grantees will determine if the ability to bombard evolved once or twice within beetles. They will also infer the pattern of evolutionary relationship among the major groups of paussine beetles. This work will result in the publication of a branching diagram depicting the evolutionary history of these beetles that will set the foundation for subsequent studies of paussine chemistry and natural history. This grant will also help fund a collecting expedition to Africa to acquire necessary beetle specimens. During this visit Ms. Wendy Moore will present her research on paussine beetles to a variety of audiences at Universities and Natural History museums in Africa. She also helps to enlist African graduate students to join her in the field. Thus this expedition will facilitate relations between US and African academics and institutions, and greatly enhance her graduate training.