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

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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.