DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Speciation, niche divergence, and character displacement at multiple scales in Lasiopogon robber flies (Diptera: Asilidae)

论文研究：Lasiopogon 强盗蝇（双翅目：Asilidae）的物种形成、生态位分歧和多个尺度的特征位移

• 批准号: 1601389
• 负责人: L. Lacey Knowles
• 金额: $ 2万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 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: 2016-06-01 至 2018-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1601389&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Speciation; niche; divergence

How are distinct niches in communities filled when interactions among species may constrain potential overlap? Robber flies in the genus Lasiopogon are a widespread group of insect predators that hunt in many environments, such as dunes, beaches, trails, streamsides, and sagebrush landscapes. Specializations such as perching habits or seasonal emergence times provide a way for species with overlapping ranges to reduce competition. The goal of this project is to compare diversification patterns and similarities in geographic range, niche, and morphology throughout the 60 species of North American Lasiopogon to uncover not just when and where a given species split, but how regional communities (i.e., who it evolved with) influenced this diversification. Understanding the processes of adaptation at regional and local scales will help show how environmental cues and interactions among species maintain and promote biodiversity, providing lessons about potential responses of species to shifting environments. This research will promote taxonomic expertise and training in a diverse but understudied group of insects (robber flies). Furthermore, since many Lasiopogon species have highly specialized habitat requirements, this work will provide data for studying community changes precipitated by urban spread, manmade irrigation, and climate change. An undergraduate student will be trained in Asilidae taxonomic and biodiversity research, and distributional and ecological information
from this study will be shared on general and taxon-specific websites. Species niches are a distillation of their interactions with other members of the community and their phylogenetic history. This research will estimate evolutionary relationships among North American Lasiopogon from sequencing multiple loci. Microniche characteristics and ecological niche models will be estimated from museum specimens and samples by the PIs. Phylogenetic comparative methods will then be used to examine the effects of ecological specialization at different spatial scales and morphological character displacement on diversification and community assembly. This study design will reveal whether ecological and morphological differences accumulated during or after species divergence, and which axes of variation (coarse- or fine-scaled ecology, morphology, phenology) have been more influential in fueling character displacement and competitive specialization.

当物种间的相互作用可能限制潜在的重叠时，群落中不同的生态位是如何填补的？在Lasiopogon属中的强盗苍蝇是一种广泛分布的昆虫捕食者，在许多环境中捕食，例如沙丘，海滩，小径，溪边和山艾树景观。栖息习惯或季节性出现时间等专业化为具有重叠范围的物种提供了减少竞争的方法。该项目的目标是比较北美60种Lasiopogon在地理范围，生态位和形态上的多样性模式和相似性，不仅要揭示特定物种何时何地分裂，还要揭示区域社区（即，与谁一起进化）影响了这种多样化。了解区域和地方尺度的适应过程将有助于显示环境线索和物种之间的相互作用如何维持和促进生物多样性，提供有关物种对不断变化的环境的潜在反应的经验教训。这项研究将促进分类学专业知识和培训，在一个多样化的，但研究不足的昆虫组（强盗苍蝇）。此外，由于许多Lasiopogon物种有高度专业化的栖息地要求，这项工作将提供数据，研究社区的变化沉淀城市蔓延，人工灌溉和气候变化。一名本科生将接受Asilidae分类学和生物多样性研究的培训，本研究的分布和生态信息将在一般和分类特定的网站上共享。物种生态位是它们与群落其他成员的相互作用及其系统发育历史的升华。本研究将通过多个基因座的测序来估计北美毛须属的进化关系。研究员会从博物馆的标本和样本中估计植物的特征和生态位模型。系统发育比较的方法，然后将被用来检查在不同的空间尺度和形态特征的多样化和社区组装的位移生态专业化的影响。这项研究设计将揭示生态和形态差异是否在物种分化期间或之后积累，以及哪些变异轴（粗尺度或细尺度生态，形态学，物候学）在助长特征位移和竞争专业化方面更有影响力。