RPG: Phylogeny and Biogeography of Oedionychina (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Oedionychina蚤虫亚族（鞘翅目：金蝇科：Alticinae）是一个由24个属组成的大型自然进化类群，主要分布在南美洲、非洲和印度（古Gonwana大陆-澳大利亚）。尽管在亚部落中存在经济上重要的物种，但这些属之间的进化关系尚不清楚。俄狄onychina也是唯一明确定义的蚤甲虫超属群，分布在一个以上的大陆。因此，这一类群的生物地理学研究对阐明蚤甲虫的起源和蚤甲虫在新世界热带地区的巨大辐射具有重要意义。本文将采用现代进化分类的方法对俄狄onychina进行进化分析，目的是研究分散和大陆漂移在该属当前分布中的作用。特别令人感兴趣的是新世界和旧大陆属之间的关系，以及它们的进化历史与它们分布的地区的年龄和已知进化历史的一致性。这项研究将检验关于这些甲虫进化的两种现有假设，其中一种认为它们在冈瓦纳进化，一些群体在大陆分离后在非洲和南美洲多样化；另一种观点认为，这个群体在南美洲进化，后来通过水路分散到非洲和印度。这些结果对生物区系形成理论具有重要意义。对系统发育关系缺乏系统的理解，部分原因是依赖于昆虫外骨骼的传统特征。这些特征将与幼年期的形态和发育特征以及女性生殖器和口腔的特殊感觉结构的分析相结合。由于这项研究的结果，用于跳蚤甲虫进化研究的性状种类将得到扩大。现有的细胞遗传学数据也将被整合到分析中，以提供更强大的数据集。此外，99%的甲虫物种完全未知的自然历史将被记录下来，并将收集样本进行DNA分析。在此计划拨款期间，PI将对巴西南部进行一次采集和饲养之旅，在那里发现了24个属中的12个。这次旅行的工作将测试和完善幼年阶段的饲养和收集技术，为使用扫描电子显微镜（口腔感觉器官）进行初步分析提供分类群，并探索在进化分析中从未使用过的特征系统的用途。收集到的成虫和幼虫将进行形态学准备和分析；如果这些特征系统提供了良好的系统发育分辨率，将计划在南美洲北部和非洲使用这些系统进行研究，以完成了解俄狄onychina进化所必需的分类抽样，并检验Gonwandian动物群进化的假设

(9707544) Duckett RPG The flea beetle sub-tribe, Oedionychina (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) is a large evolutionarily natural group of 24 genera distributed primarily is South America, Africa and India (the ancient continent of Gonwana minus Australia). The evolutionary relationships among these genera are not understood despite the presence of economically important species in the sub-tribe. Oedionychina is also the only clearly defined suprageneric group of flea beetles that is distributed in more than one continent. Therefore, the biogeography of this group will be of value in elucidating the origins of the flea beetles and the great radiation of flea beetle in the new world tropics. An evolutionary analysis of the Oedionychina using modern cladistic methods will be performed with the aim of investigating the role of dispersal and continental drift in the current distribution of the genera. Of special interest are the relationships among the New World and Old World genera and the congruence of their evolutionary histories to the age and known evolutionary histories of the areas where they are distributed.This study will test two existing hypotheses of the evolution of the these beetles one which maintains that they evolved in Gonwana and some groups diversified in Africa and South America after the continents separated; the other maintains that this group evolved in South America and later dispersed over water to Africa and India. These results are important to the theory of the formation of biotas. The lack of systematic understanding of phylogenetic relationships is in part because of reliance on traditional characters of the insect exoskeleton. These characters will be combined with analysis of morphological and developmental characters from juvenile stages as well as female genitalia and the specialized sensory structures of the mouth. As a result of this study the kinds of characters used for evolutionary studies of the flea beetles will be expanded. Existin g data on cytogenetics will also be integrated into the analysis to provide a more powerful data set. Additionally, the natural history of the beetles, which is totally unknown in 99% of the species will be documented and samples for later analysis of DNA will be collected. During this planning grant the PI will conduct a collecting and rearing trip to southern Brazil where 12 of the 24 genera are found is proposed. Work done on this trip will test and perfect rearing and collecting techniques of juvenile stages, provide taxa for initial analsysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (mouth sense organs) and explore the utility of character systems which have never been used in the Chrysomelidae for evolutionary analysis. The adults and juveniles collected will be prepared and analyzed morphologically; if these character systems provide good phylogenetic resolution, research using these systems will be planned in northern South America and Africa to complete the taxonomic sampling necessary for an understanding of the evolution of the Oedionychina and to test hypotheses of the evolution of the Gonwandian fauna