Systematics of Brachyceran Diptera

短翅目双翅目系统学

• 批准号: 314051-2012
• 负责人: Skevington, Jeffrey
• 金额: $ 1.53万
• 依托单位: Carleton University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=595134
• 关键词: Systematics; Brachyceran; Diptera

More scientists are urgently needed to document the planet's diversity and in our lab we will be focusing on a megadiverse group, the true flies (Diptera). Over 150,000 described species exist in this group and this is still the tip of the iceberg. My research has focused on several families of higher flies but students will be encouraged to work on any projects that fascinate them. The group that I have worked on most is the family Pipunculidae, big-headed flies. These insects are parasitoids of leafhoppers, planthoppers, spittlebugs, and crane flies. Female big-headed flies lay single eggs inside their developing hosts and the larvae typically kill the hosts when they emerge. Very little work has been conducted on the association of big-headed flies and their hosts because of the lack of taxonomic knowledge. This project will facilitate research into the ecology and co-evolution of pipunculids and their hosts. We will also explore and document diversity in the families Conopidae (thick-headed flies) and Syrphidae (flower flies). Although our work will be global, we will have regional foci in North America and Australia. Australia has a particularly fascinating insect fauna that has evolved in isolation for millions of years. Many questions about biodiversity and rapid diversification of groups may be studied on this fascinating continent. One of our best methods for posing questions like this in biology requires that we have a hypothesis of how related species evolved. Phylogenetics uses data from DNA and morphology to try to uncover this evolutionary history of groups. We will be applying these methods to study related species, related families and even to explore the relationships between all families of higher flies. This exciting research involves teams of individuals from ten countries working collaboratively. Students in my lab will help to organize pieces of the puzzle to uncover this tree of life for Diptera. The phylogenies created will have far-reaching uses as we try to predict the unknown based on knowledge that we have for a few well-studied groups.

迫切需要更多的科学家来记录地球的多样性，在我们的实验室中，我们将专注于一个巨大的多样性群体，真正的苍蝇（双翅目）。超过150，000个描述的物种存在于这个群体中，这仍然是冰山一角。我的研究集中在几个家庭的更高的苍蝇，但学生将被鼓励从事任何项目，吸引他们。我研究得最多的是头蝇科，一种大头苍蝇。这些昆虫是叶蝉、稻飞虱、沫蝉和起重机蝇的拟寄生物。雌性大头蝇在发育中的宿主体内产卵，幼虫通常在出现时杀死宿主。由于缺乏分类学知识，关于大头蝇与其宿主的关系的研究很少。该项目将促进对pipunculids及其宿主的生态学和共同进化的研究。我们还将探索和记录科Conopidae（厚头苍蝇）和Syrphidae（花蝇）的多样性。虽然我们的工作将是全球性的，但我们将在北美和澳大利亚设立区域中心。澳大利亚拥有特别迷人的昆虫动物群，它们已经在孤立中进化了数百万年。许多关于生物多样性和群体迅速多样化的问题可以在这个迷人的大陆上进行研究。在生物学中，我们提出这类问题的最佳方法之一是，我们必须对相关物种如何进化提出一个假设。系统发生学使用DNA和形态学的数据来试图揭示群体的进化历史。我们将应用这些方法来研究相关的物种，相关的家庭，甚至探索所有家庭之间的关系。这项令人兴奋的研究涉及来自10个国家的个人团队合作。我实验室的学生们将帮助整理拼图的碎片，揭开双翅目的生命之树。当我们试图根据我们对少数几个经过充分研究的群体的知识来预测未知事物时，所创建的遗传学将具有深远的用途。