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: $ 0.65万
• 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: 2009
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2009-01-01 至 2010-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=419256
• 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，因为就执行各种生态功能的物种和个体而言，它们通常是最丰富的生物体。 然而，对于昆虫来说，地球上的物种总数只能粗略估计，并且只能对加拿大动物群进行初步综合，包括特定栖息地类型的物种丰富度。昆虫很有用，因为它们为分析众多高度复杂的系统提供了多种机会，从而深入了解类群之间的关系和群落的功能。 因此，昆虫系统学对于生物多样性研究至关重要。 系统学工作必须由有助于生物多样性清查计划的单独项目组成。标本和分类群的数量庞大，需要专业化才能发展权威的专业知识。 我的系统研究强调对加拿大动物群的研究，因为我和我的学生可以接触到它；人们已经充分了解这一点，为研究奠定了基础，但许多问题几十年来并未受到关注。 其次重点是其他北美地区（特别是丘吉尔、曼尼托巴）以及邻近的俄罗斯和新热带地区。在系统项目中，我研究多种栖息地的一种分类单元。 我专门研究水生 Adepahga（鞘翅目），重点是龙虱科，因为它们在当地数量丰富，并且通常是许多水生系统中数量上占优势的捕食者；它们是加拿大最多样化的科之一，有 276 个物种，在 118 个科中排名第 7；而且，它们提出了具有挑战性的分类学和系统发育问题。在生物多样性项目中，我研究一种栖息地的许多类群。 我专注于草原栖息地类型的生物多样性，特别是各种草原或草原。 当地的草原资源丰富且分布广泛，拥有大量独特而有趣的昆虫动物群，但这些昆虫动物群在很大程度上仍然未知且尚未得到充分开发。