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

Leiodidae甲虫科分布在世界各地，具有广泛的形态和生态多样性，包括虹彩食真菌动物、无眼无翅穴居动物和哺乳动物外寄生动物。对类人猿进化关系（系统发育）的进一步了解将使研究这些不寻常的生活方式是如何以及为什么进化成为可能。本研究将利用蛭科5个亚科和19个已描述部落的形态学和DNA数据来确定该科的系统发育及其在超科葡萄球菌总科中的位置。一个已解决的系统发育将用来确定为什么一些以真菌或腐肉为食的甲虫谱系发生了巨大的变化，而另一些却没有。昆虫多样化的研究传统上局限于共同进化系统，如特定物种的植物饲养者或寄生虫。该研究将为研究昆虫多样性的进化决定因素提供一个新的视角，并为今后昆虫生态形态学、生物地理学和进化生态学的研究开辟一个新的模型系统。本研究的分类学成果将包括南美洲、新西兰和澳大利亚温带森林的重形动物群的图解和网络识别密钥。这些钥匙将在保护、生态研究和教育推广中发挥重要作用，特别是在智利南部受到高度威胁的瓦尔迪维亚沿海森林中。

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.