DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics and Morphological Evolution of Leiodidae (Coleoptera): A New Perspective on the Evolutionary Determinants of Beetle Diversity

Leiodidae甲虫家族分布于世界各地，具有极其广泛的形态和生态多样性，包括彩虹色的食菌动物、无眼、无翼的洞穴居民和哺乳动物体外寄生虫。 更好地理解leiodid的进化关系（leiodid）将有可能研究这些不寻常的生活方式是如何以及为什么进化的。本研究将使用形态学和DNA数据从5亚科和19个描述部落的Leiodidae，以确定该家庭和它的位置内的超家庭隐翅虫。一个解决的进化将被用来确定为什么一些谱系的真菌或腐肉喂养甲虫显着多样化和其他doesn.Studies昆虫多样化传统上被限制在共同进化系统，如物种特定的植物饲养者或寄生虫。本研究将为昆虫多样性的进化决定因素提供一个新的视角，并为未来的昆虫生态形态学、昆虫地理学和进化生态学研究开辟一个新的模型体系。本研究的分类学产品将包括在南美洲，新西兰和澳大利亚的温带森林的leiodid动物群的图文并茂的印刷和网络访问的识别键。这些钥匙将在保护，生态研究和教育推广方面有价值，特别是在智利南部受到高度威胁的瓦尔迪维亚沿海森林。

The beetle family Leiodidae occurs worldwide and encompasses a tremendous breadth of morphological and ecological diversity, including iridescent fungivores, eyeless, wingless cave-dwellers, and mammalian ectoparasites. An improved understanding of leiodid evolutionary relationships (phylogeny) will make it possible to examine how and why these unusual lifestyles have evolved. This study will use morphological and DNA data from the five subfamilies and 19 described tribes of Leiodidae to determine the phylogeny of the family and its placement within the superfamily Staphylinoidea. A resolved phylogeny will be used to determine why some lineages of fungus- or carrion-feeding beetles diversify dramatically and others do not.Studies of insect diversification have traditionally been confined to coevolutionary systems such as species-specific plant feeders or parasites. This investigation will provide a novel perspective on evolutionary determinants of diversification, and will open up a new model system for future studies of insect ecomorphology, biogeography, and evolutionary ecology. Taxonomic products of this study will include well-illustrated print and web-accessible identification keys to the leiodid fauna of temperate forests in South America, New Zealand, and Australia. These keys will be valuable for use in conservation, ecological studies, and educational outreach, particularly in the highly threatened Valdivian coastal forests of southern Chile.