Systematic revision of the army ant-symbiont beetle genus Vatesus Sharp, 1876 (Staphylinidae: Tachyporinae: Vatesini) based on a multidisciplinary approach

基于多学科方法对军蚁共生甲虫属 Vatesus Sharp, 1876（葡萄球菌科：Tachyporinae：Vatesini）进行系统修订

• 批准号: 310785848
• 负责人: Dr. Christoph von Beeren, Ph.D.
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Arbeitsgruppe Ecological Networks
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2015-12-31 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/310785848?language=en
• 关键词: Systematic; revision; army; ant; symbiont

Army ants are the top arthropod predators in tropical ecosystems. Besides their pivotal role as predators, a diverse fauna of animals, ranging from ant birds to arthropod symbionts, depends on the presence of army ants. For instance, several hundred species are obligate associates of the swarm-raiding army ant Eciton burchellii. The faunistic diversity of army ant guests entails major deficiencies in species identifications, mainly because the taxonomy of symbiont groups has remained untouched for decades. Notable among these groups are one of the most abundant and charismatic taxa: rove beetles of the genus Vatesus Sharp, 1876. The genus consists of 26 species. Their taxonomy has remained untouched since the latest revisions in the 1950s and 1960s. By modern standards, historical Vatesus species descriptions lack sufficient detail to capture phenotypic variation so that species identifications of Vatesus are problematic. Crucially, genitalia descriptions, which provide essential characters for beetle taxonomy, are missing for all but two species. The shaky taxonomy thus creates a serious impediment to any kind of research on these beetles. In the last years, I have compiled an extraordinary collection of Vatesus beetles, consisting of more than 1,600 specimens and at least 10 distinct species. Additionally, numerous museums have additionally accrued a huge number of specimens. Collectively, these collection efforts sum up to several thousand specimens covering a broad geographic area. Based on these remarkable collections and support of museums, it is my goal to achieve a modern systematic revision of Vatesus. The revision will be based on a multidisciplinary approach by combining the analyses of morphological characters and genetic loci (COI, wg, CAD). Clustering of genetic data will unveil possible candidate species. Representatives of each candidate species and all holotypes will then be scanned using synchrotron-generated X-ray microtomography (SRµCT), allowing for qualitative and quantitative analyses of beetles’ external and internal morphology. Importantly, using SRµCT I will analyze male and female genitalia without the need of specimen dissections, i.e. type material stays intact. Molecular and morphological data will be analyzed synergistically with the goal of robustly uncovering species boundaries and defining them based on anatomy. This integrative approach will provide a rigorous analysis of phenotypic and genetic variation of Vatesus beetles, which will result in detailed species descriptions that match the highest modern standards. Finally, I will create an easily usable dichotomous species key of Vatesus beetles by providing visual illustrations exemplifying the differences of presented characters via drawings, high-quality focus-stacked 2-D images, and 3-D models. A solid taxonomy and an easily usable species key will provide the foundation for any kind of future research on these enigmatic social insect symbionts.

军蚁是热带生态系统中最大的节肢动物捕食者。除了它们作为捕食者的关键角色外，从蚂蚁鸟到节肢动物共生体的各种动物区系，都依赖于军蚁的存在。例如，数百种蚂蚁是蜂群突袭大军蚂蚁Eciton burchellii的专职伙伴。军蚁访客的区系多样性导致物种鉴定方面存在重大缺陷，主要是因为共生群的分类学几十年来一直保持不变。在这些类群中值得注意的是最丰富和最有魅力的分类群之一：Vatesus Sharp属的流动甲虫，1876年。该属由26种组成。自20世纪50年代和60年代的最近一次修订以来，它们的分类一直保持不变。按照现代标准，历史上的Vatesus物种描述缺乏足够的细节来捕捉表型变异，因此Vatesus的物种鉴定是有问题的。至关重要的是，为甲虫分类提供基本特征的生殖器描述，除了两个物种外，所有物种都缺少。因此，摇摇欲坠的分类体系严重阻碍了对这些甲虫的任何类型的研究。在过去的几年里，我收集了一批非凡的Vatesus甲虫，包括1600多个标本和至少10个不同的物种。此外，许多博物馆还积累了大量的标本。总而言之，这些收集工作总共收集了数千个标本，覆盖了广阔的地理区域。基于这些杰出的收藏品和博物馆的支持，我的目标是实现对瓦特索斯的现代系统修订。修订将基于多学科方法，结合形态特征和遗传基因座(COI、WG、CAD)的分析。基因数据的聚类将揭示可能的候选物种。然后，将使用同步加速器生成的X射线显微断层扫描技术(SR？CT)扫描每个候选物种和所有全息模式的代表，从而对甲虫的外部和内部形态进行定性和定量分析。重要的是，使用SRµCT I将分析男性和女性生殖器，而不需要标本解剖，即类型材料保持完好。分子和形态数据将进行协同分析，目标是有力地揭示物种边界，并根据解剖学对其进行定义。这种综合的方法将提供对Vatesus甲虫表型和遗传变异的严格分析，这将导致符合最高现代标准的详细物种描述。最后，我将通过提供图画、高质量聚焦堆叠的2-D图像和3-D模型提供直观的插图来说明所呈现的字符的不同，从而创建一个易于使用的Vatesus甲虫二分种检索表。坚实的分类学和易于使用的物种检索表将为未来对这些神秘的社会昆虫共生体的任何类型的研究提供基础。