Taxonomy, Phylogenetics, Behavior And Proteomics Of The Social Wasp Superorganisms (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Vespinae).

佛蒙特大学生物系的库尔特·M·皮克特博士获得了一项资助，用于研究黄蜂和大黄蜂群体中发现的复杂的社会结构。皮克特将与合作者布莱恩·巴里夫博士(也是UVM)和詹姆斯·M·卡彭特博士(纽约AMNH)一起，研究全球所有黄夹克和黄蜂的进化史。这项系统发育研究将依赖于形态、遗传和蛋白质组学数据。该团队将对黄蜂复杂的社会性的各个方面进行调查。其中包括群体成员之间令人惊叹的“超有机体”相互依赖，群体成员作为一个整体密切地发挥作用。就像人体中的细胞一样，黄蜂的种姓具有不同的生理作用。特别是，似乎只有幼虫群体才能消化食物，有效地形成更高级别个体的胃，也就是群体本身。这项调查将为复杂的合作和分工的起源提供新的进化线索。调查人员将培训本科生和研究生，并将为AMNH获奖的ology创建与研究相关的新内容，这是一个免费的、科学丰富的网站，专为7岁及以上的学习者和他们的教育工作者设计。除了制作与黄蜂行为相关的手稿外，调查人员还将修改分类法，并制作所有物种的识别钥匙。没有足够的钥匙存在，所以图文并茂的钥匙将极大地促进本科生和其他开始学习黄夹克和黄蜂生物学的学生的教育，并作为实用工作者的实用工具。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Kurt M. Pickett of the University of Vermont's Department of Biology for the study of the sophisticated social structures found in yellowjacket and hornet colonies. Pickett, with collaborators Dr. Bryan Ballif (also of UVM) and Dr. James M. Carpenter (AMNH, New York), will investigate the evolutionary history of all yellowjackets and hornets worldwide. This phylogenetic investigation will rely on morphological, genetic and proteomic data. The team will investigate various aspects of the wasps' sophisticated sociality. Among these includes the amazing "superorganismic" interdependence of the members of the colonies, in which members function intimately, as a single unit. Just like cells in the human body, the castes of wasps have distinct physiological roles. In particular, it seems that only larvae colonies can digest food, effectively forming the stomach of the higher-level individual, the colony itself. This investigation will shed new evolutionary light on the origins of complex cooperation and division of labor.The investigators will train undergraduate and graduate students and will create new content related to the research for the AMNH's award-winning OLogy, a free, science-rich website designed for learners aged 7 and up and their educators. In addition to producing manuscripts related to the wasps' behavior, the investigators will revise taxonomy and produce identification keys to all species. No adequate keys exist, and so the fully illustrated keys will greatly facilitate the education of undergraduates and other students beginning their studies in any aspect of yellowjacket and hornet biology, as well as function as a practical tool for applied workers.