Collaborative Research: An integrative approach to understanding the evolution and systematics of Chalcidoidea: A recent megaradiation of Hymenoptera

合作研究：了解小球纲进化和系统学的综合方法：膜翅目最近的大辐射

• 批准号: 1555808
• 负责人: John Heraty
• 金额: $ 92.81万
• 依托单位: University of California-Riverside
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-03-01 至 2021-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1555808&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; integrative; approach; understanding

Chalcidoidea (jewel wasps) are among the most species rich, ecologically important, and biologically diverse groups of terrestrial organisms. Their diversity is staggering, with more than 500,000 species thought to exist. These minute wasps (mostly 1-2 mm in size) are numerically abundant and common in almost every habitat. The smallest of these wasps are smaller than a typical single-celled organism, and yet the adults can fly, locate their hosts, deposit their eggs, and as larvae, consume their insect hosts. Most chalcidoid wasps are parasitoids; they feed on their insect hosts, eventually killing them. A few groups have also evolved to attack plant hosts and some serve as pollinators. Species attack all life stages from eggs to adults, and live and feed either internally or externally. Some are parasitoids of other parasitoids and some may even feed on their own species. Because they kill other insects, these wasps are extremely important for the control of pests of agricultural and forest crops, as well as vectors of human disease and veterinary pests. The economic importance of these wasps in pest management is unparalleled. They are widely used in biological control programs against major pests, with outcomes documented to result in decreases in pesticide, increases in yield, and in landmark cases direct savings of billions of dollars or permanent pest control. The evolutionary events leading to this enormous diversity in morphology, biology and rates of diversification are poorly understood, leading to an artificial system of taxonomic classification. In this research project, researchers will use a diverse array of molecular, morphological and bioinformatics approaches to develop a solid understanding of the hierarchy of relationships across the entire group. These relationships will then be used to reclassify major groups to reflect common ancestry, to provide a framework for a web-accessible portal to manage and deliver information on their diverse biology, and to explore the evolutionary changes that have driven and shaped this enormous radiation of terrestrial insects.The objectives of the research project are to 1) generate a robust molecular phylogeny of the Chalcidoidea using new data from transcriptomes and targeted DNA enrichment for over 400 species, 2) generate morphological data for over 200 fossils from Eocene and Cretaceous amber and combine these with a comprehensive morphological data set for extant taxa, 3) develop a revised classification of Chalcidoidea in book form through a series of workshops and worldwide collaborations, and 4) make available information on the taxonomy, biology and distribution of over 31,000 available names and information in over 40,000 references. The project will train two postdoctoral researchers, one graduate student and several undergraduates. To involve the wider scientific community, a worldwide group of biocontrol researchers and taxonomists will develop a new classification for Chalcidoidea. With groups of Research and Extension Specialists, the project will develop posters, fliers, specimen education kits, and other educational materials for use in the classroom and by extension specialists, agricultural advisors, master naturalists and master gardeners, and the general public to develop a greater interest and understanding of this charismatic and and important group of insects.

Chalcidoidea（宝石黄蜂）是陆地生物中物种最丰富、生态最重要且生物多样性最丰富的群体之一。它们的多样性是惊人的，据信存在超过 500,000 个物种。这些微小的黄蜂（尺寸大多为 1-2 毫米）数量丰富，几乎在每个栖息地都很常见。这些黄蜂中最小的比典型的单细胞生物还要小，但成虫可以飞行、定位宿主、产卵，并在幼虫时期捕食昆虫宿主。大多数小黄蜂都是寄生蜂。它们以昆虫宿主为食，最终杀死它们。一些群体还进化出攻击植物宿主的能力，有些还充当传粉媒介。物种攻击从卵到成虫的所有生命阶段，并在内部或外部生活和进食。有些是其他寄生蜂的寄生蜂，有些甚至可能以自己的物种为食。由于它们会杀死其他昆虫，因此这些黄蜂对于控制农业和林业作物害虫以及人类疾病和兽医害虫的媒介极为重要。这些黄蜂在害虫防治中的经济重要性是无与伦比的。它们被广泛用于针对主要害虫的生物防治计划中，记录的结果是减少农药用量、增加产量，并在具有里程碑意义的案例中直接节省数十亿美元或实现永久害虫防治。人们对导致形态学、生物学和多样化率如此巨大多样性的进化事件知之甚少，从而导致了人工分类系统的产生。在这个研究项目中，研究人员将使用多种分子、形态学和生物信息学方法来深入了解整个群体的关系层次结构。然后，这些关系将用于对主要群体进行重新分类，以反映共同的祖先，为可通过网络访问的门户提供框架来管理和提供有关其多样化生物学的信息，并探索驱动和塑造陆地昆虫巨大辐射的进化变化。该研究项目的目标是 1) 使用来自转录组和目标 DNA 的新数据生成 Chalcidoidea 的强大分子系统发育 丰富了 400 多个物种，2) 生成了 200 多个始新世和白垩纪琥珀化石的形态数据，并将这些数据与现存类群的综合形态数据集相结合，3) 通过一系列研讨会和全球合作，以书籍形式修订了 Chalcidoidea 分类，4) 提供了超过 31,000 个可用名称和信息的分类学、生物学和分布信息。 40,000 条参考文献。该项目将培养两名博士后、一名研究生和多名本科生。为了让更广泛的科学界参与进来，一个由生物防治研究人员和分类学家组成的全球小组将为 Chalcidoidea 开发一个新的分类。该项目将与研究和推广专家小组一起开发海报、传单、标本教育套件和其他教育材料，供推广专家、农业顾问、博物学家和园丁大师以及公众在课堂上使用，以提高对这一魅力十足且重要的昆虫群体的兴趣和了解。