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

论文研究：Leiodidae（鞘翅目）的系统学和形态进化：甲虫多样性进化决定因素的新视角

• 批准号: 0710239
• 负责人: Kipling Will
• 金额: $ 1.16万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-08-01 至 2009-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0710239&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Systematics; Morphological; Evolution

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.

甲虫家族属于世界各地发生，并涵盖了形态和生态多样性的巨大广度，包括虹彩真菌，无眼，无翅的洞穴居民和哺乳动物的外体外体。 对静脉发展关系（系统发育）的改进理解将使研究这些异常生活方式如何发展成为可能。这项研究将使用来自五个亚家族的形态学和DNA数据，并描述了Leiodidae的部落，以确定家族的系统发育及其在超家族葡萄球菌素中的位置。解决的系统发育将用于确定为什么某些真菌或腐肉喂养甲虫的谱系急剧多样化，而其他甲虫则不多样化。传统上，昆虫多样化的研究被限制在诸如物种特异性植物饲养者或寄生虫之类的协同进化系统中。这项调查将为多元化的进化决定因素提供新的观点，并将为未来研究昆虫生态形态，生物地理学和进化生态学的新模型系统开辟新的模型系统。这项研究的分类产品将包括对南美，新西兰和澳大利亚温带森林的leiodid动物群的插图良好的印刷品和可识别键。这些钥匙对于在保护，生态研究和教育宣传方面使用，特别是在受威胁的智利南部的瓦尔迪维亚沿海森林中使用。