Collaborative Research: Speciation and Evolution of Fire Ants - An Integrated Population Genetic, Phylogenetic, and Ecological Approach

红火蚁是世界上最严重的入侵物种之一，在美国，每年因这种昆虫而造成的控制、管理和农业损失超过10亿美元。尽管火蚁在70多年前从南美洲来到美国东南部，但我们仍然对哪些地区容易受到这种入侵者的攻击，在火蚁物种群中是如何划定物种边界的，以及未来哪些新的火蚁物种可能成为入侵者知之甚少。我们将结合分子和生态技术来解决这些悬而未决的问题。这些信息对于我们研究物种的性质和物种边界的划定具有巨大的科学价值，对于了解具有高度破坏性的火蚁害虫物种的全部入侵潜力和构思新的管理策略具有实用价值。在拟议项目的广泛影响中，需要解决的一个核心社会问题是美国中小学中训练有素的科学教师的严重短缺。为了鼓励学生将科学教育/科学研究作为职业选择，将采用两种策略，一种涉及乔治亚州北部和伊利诺伊州中部的公立高中学生，另一种涉及本科生。

The red-imported fire ant is one of the world's worst invasive species and costs associated with control, management, and agricultural losses due to this insect exceed a billion dollars a year in the United States. Despite arriving in the southeastern United States from South America over 70 years ago, we still know very little about the what areas are vulnerable to this invader, what delineates species boundaries in the fire ant species complex, and which new species of fire ant may become invaders in the future. We will integrate molecular and ecological techniques to address these outstanding questions. This information will be of enormous scientific value, as we investigate the nature of species and the delineation of species boundaries, as well as of practical value for understanding the full invasive potential of the highly damaging fire ant pest species and for conceiving novel management strategies for these pests. A central societal issue to be addressed in the broader impacts of the proposed project is the critical shortage of well-trained science teachers in primary and secondary schools in the U.S.A. Two strategies will be employed to encourage students to consider science education/scientific research as career options, one involving students at public high schools in northern Georgia and central Illinois, and the other involving undergraduates.