Classification, biodiversity and biogeography of insects

昆虫的分类、生物多样性和生物地理学

• 批准号: 428-2008
• 负责人: Roughley, Robert
• 金额: $ 1.22万
• 依托单位: University of Manitoba
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2008-01-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=388270
• 关键词: Classification; biodiversity; biogeography; insects

Biodiversity is critical to ecological understanding and environmental management. Insects are critical components of biodiversity as they are often the most abundant organism in terms of species and individuals performing various ecological functions. However, for insects, the total number of species on earth can only be crudely estimated and only preliminary syntheses are available for the Canadian fauna including species richness for particular habitat types. Insects are useful because of the diverse opportunities they provide for analysis of numerous highly complex systems providing insight into the relationship among taxa and the function of communities. Therefore systematics of insects is of critical importance for biodiversity studies. Work in systematics must consist of separate projects contributing to a program of the inventory of biodiversity. The sheer number of specimens and taxa require specialization for development of authoritative expertise. My systematic research emphasizes study of the Canadian fauna because it is accessible to me and my students; it is sufficiently known to provide a foundation for research, yet many problems have not received attention for decades. Secondary emphasis is placed on other North American regions (particularly Churchill, Manitoba) and adjacent Russian and the Neotropics. In systematic projects, I study one taxon in many kinds of habitats. I specialize in the study of aquatic Adepahga (Coleoptera) with emphasis on the family Dytiscidae because they are locally abundant and often form the numerically dominant predators in many aquatic systems; they are one of the most diverse families in Canada with 276 species ranking them 7th/118 families;and, they present challenging taxonomic and phylogenetic problems. In biodiversity projects, I study many taxa in one kind of habitat. I specialize in biodiversity of grassland habitats types, notably various kinds of prairies or grasslands. Grasslands were locally abundant and widespread, had an enormous unique and interesting insect fauna which remains largely unknown and underexplored.

生物多样性对于生态理解和环境管理至关重要。 昆虫是生物多样性的重要组成部分，因为就物种和个体而言，它们往往是最丰富的生物体，履行各种生态功能。 然而，对于昆虫，地球上的物种总数只能粗略估计，加拿大动物群只有初步的综合，包括特定栖息地类型的物种丰富度。昆虫是有用的，因为它们提供了各种各样的机会，分析许多高度复杂的系统，提供洞察类群之间的关系和社区的功能。 因此，昆虫系统学对生物多样性研究具有重要意义。 系统分类学的工作必须由独立的项目组成，以促进生物多样性清单的计划。标本和分类群的绝对数量需要专业化，以发展权威的专业知识。 我的系统性研究强调对加拿大动物群的研究，因为它对我和我的学生来说是容易接近的;它已经足够为研究提供基础，但许多问题几十年来没有得到关注。 第二个重点放在其他北美地区（特别是丘吉尔，马尼托巴）和邻近的俄罗斯和新热带地区。在系统学项目中，我研究了多种生境中的一个分类单元。 我专门研究水生Adepahga（鞘翅目），重点是家庭Dytisbagae，因为它们在当地丰富，往往形成在许多水生系统中占主导地位的捕食者;他们是加拿大最多样化的家庭之一，有276种，排名第7/118家庭;而且，他们提出了具有挑战性的分类和系统发育问题。在生物多样性项目中，我研究一种栖息地中的许多分类群。 我专门研究草原栖息地类型的生物多样性，特别是各种草原或草原。 草原是当地丰富和广泛的，有一个巨大的独特和有趣的昆虫动物群，仍然在很大程度上未知和未充分探索。