Collaborative Research: ARTS: Integrating phylogenomics and taxonomic training to overcome the taxonomic impediment in the genus Nylanderia

合作研究：ARTS：整合系统发育学和分类学训练以克服尼兰德利亚属的分类学障碍

• 批准号: 2026772
• 负责人: Andrea Lucky
• 金额: $ 87.16万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-11-01 至 2024-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2026772&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; ARTS; Integrating; phylogenomics

Ants are among the most ubiquitous and ecologically important animals on earth. Their sociality has led to the evolution of diverse life histories and morphologies, yet half of the estimated 30,000 ant species remain undiscovered and await description by scientists. Ants’ outsized impacts extend to invasive species, which rank among the most ecologically and economically damaging taxa worldwide. One of the primary obstacles to effective management of invasive ants is taxonomic uncertainty, that is, many species cannot be reliably distinguished from one another or associated with stable scientific names. For example, hundreds of species of ants in the genus Nylanderia closely resemble one another, but only 15 species are known to be problematic. Although these ants are difficult to identify, their ubiquity makes them impossible to ignore; Nylanderia specimens fill museum drawers of unidentified ants, and the genus comprises up to 20% of unidentified ant specimens intercepted at US ports of entry. Taxonomic revision of this important but taxonomically chaotic ant genus is urgently needed to define species boundaries of globetrotting taxa, as well as to name the many species that currently lack description. Because many invasive ant taxa present similar problems, this project focuses also on training the next generation of ant taxonomists and professional insect identifiers, which is essential to overcoming the taxonomic impediment in this group.This project sidesteps a historical reliance on ant worker morphology by generating an unprecedented molecular genomic dataset, using ultraconserved elements (UCEs), to reconstruct the global evolutionary history of Nylanderia. This phylogeny will form the basis of an exhaustive taxonomic revision of the genus, which will clarify existing nomenclature, describe 100 new species, and resolve species boundaries in 15 widespread invasive species complexes. By focusing on the value of internal and external male morphology to species delimitation and practical identification, the researchers will introduce unexplored character sets into the study of Nylanderia and test the phylogenetic value of these characters against currently used worker-caste ants and queens. The project will train early career taxonomists through undergraduate courses involving new species descriptions and invasive ant identification workshops, and a public art-science exhibition about invasive ants will illustrate the ecological importance of ants.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

蚂蚁是地球上最普遍、对生态最重要的动物之一。它们的社会性导致了不同生活史和形态的进化，但估计有 30,000 种蚂蚁物种中有一半仍未被发现，有待科学家描述。蚂蚁的巨大影响还延伸到了入侵物种，这些物种是全球对生态和经济破坏最严重的类群之一。有效管理入侵蚂蚁的主要障碍之一是分类学的不确定性，即许多物种无法可靠地相互区分或与稳定的学名相关联。例如，Nylanderia 属的数百种蚂蚁彼此非常相似，但只有 15 种已知存在问题。尽管这些蚂蚁很难识别，但它们的普遍存在使人们无法忽视它们。博物馆的抽屉里装满了尼兰德利亚标本，里面装满了身份不明的蚂蚁，在美国入境口岸截获的身份不明的蚂蚁标本中，该属占到了 20%。迫切需要对这一重要但分类学上混乱的蚂蚁属进行分类学修订，以定义环球类群的物种边界，并命名目前缺乏描述的许多物种。由于许多入侵蚂蚁类群都存在类似问题，该项目还重点培训下一代蚂蚁分类学家和专业昆虫鉴定员，这对于克服该群体的分类学障碍至关重要。该项目通过使用超保守元素（UCE）生成前所未有的分子基因组数据集，以重建蚂蚁的全球进化历史，从而回避了对工蚁形态的历史依赖。 尼兰德里亚。该系统发育学将构成该属详尽的分类学修订的基础，这将澄清现有的命名法，描述 100 个新物种，并解决 15 个广泛入侵物种复合体的物种边界。通过关注内部和外部雄性形态对物种界定和实际鉴定的价值，研究人员将把未探索的特征集引入尼兰德里亚的研究中，并测试这些特征对目前使用的工蚁和蚁后的系统发育价值。该项目将通过涉及新物种描述和入侵蚂蚁识别研讨会的本科课程来培训早期职业分类学家，而有关入侵蚂蚁的公共艺术科学展览将说明蚂蚁的生态重要性。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Phylogenomic Delimitation of Morphologically Cryptic Species in Globetrotting Nylanderia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Species Complexes

环行尼兰德利亚（膜翅目：蚁科）物种复合体形态学隐秘物种的系统发育学界定

• DOI: 10.1093/isd/ixab027
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Insect Systematics and Diversity
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: Williams, Jason L;Zhang, Y Miles;LaPolla, John S;Schultz, Ted R;Lucky, Andrea
• 通讯作者: Lucky, Andrea