PEET: Building Taxonomic Expertise in Cucujoidea: Monographic and Phylogenetic Studies of the Cerylonid Beetles

甲虫的多样性是地球上生命的一个显著方面。生命树上的甲虫分支在形态、发育、生理、行为、生态等方面都表现出令人难以置信的多样性，这种多样性体现在数量惊人的物种上。然而，甲虫的大量多样性仍然是未知的。研究人员估计，现存的甲虫物种在100到1000万种之间，但只有大约35万种甲虫被发现并被正式描述。甲虫超家族葫芦总科由32个科组成，这些科长期未被充分研究，仍处于分类学发展的前沿阶段。一些葫芦科动物是经济上重要的食草动物(如蜥蜴甲虫)、储藏产品害虫(如谷类甲虫)或害虫的捕食者(如瓢虫)。然而，大多数是与真菌和腐烂的植物密切相关的小而神秘的甲虫，使它们成为健康陆地生态系统的重要组成部分。佐治亚大学和杨百翰大学的实验室之间的一个合作研究和培训项目将汇集一群优秀的研究生和一支具有互补技能和机构资源的国际研究团队，以生产针对Cucujoidae子群Cerylonid Series中几个谱系的全球分类治疗方法。将利用形态和分子数据进行系统发育分析，为对这些类群进行自然和稳定的分类奠定基础。该项目将提供有关这些甲虫的生物学和未成熟发育阶段的新信息。该项目将研究葫芦科昆虫谱系的进化转变，包括营养转变(植物吞噬、真菌吞噬、寄生、捕食)、共同进化(例如，与内共生酵母菌)、以及探询、聚集性和无融合的起源。该项目将在佐治亚大学和杨百翰大学创建一个有指导的学习环境，以现代系统方法培训两名博士后、四名研究生和十名本科生，总体目标是加强分类资源和葫芦科甲虫系统学方面的专业知识。发表的成果将在科学期刊上传播，并通过应用现代技术，包括可上网的电子识别钥匙、标本数字图库、稀有分类文献的数字复制品、电子物种分布图、命名数据库、与地理信息系统兼容的标本数据的互动数据库等。通过项目参与者的管理和通过实地工作产生的新材料增加馆藏，将加强葫芦科植物的博物馆馆藏。该项目将通过利用国际分类学协会及其赞助机构的优势，并通过与世界各地著名的分类学专家合作者进行密切互动，为本科生和研究生提供无与伦比的教育和研究体验。当项目目标实现时，由于已公布的分类学产品的直接影响以及分类学专业知识的注入将产生的长期影响，一大片困难的甲虫多样性将变得更容易获得。

Beetle diversity is a remarkable aspect of life on Earth. The beetle branch on the Tree of Life exhibits incredible variation in morphology, development, physiology, behavior, ecology, etc., and this diversity is reflected by an astounding number of species. A vast amount of beetle diversity, however, remains unknown. Researchers estimate that there are between one and ten million extant beetle species, but only about 350,000 have been discovered and formally described. The beetle superfamily Cucujoidea is comprised of 32 families that have been chronically understudied and remain in the frontier stage of taxonomic development. Some cucujoids are economically significant herbivores (e.g., lizard beetles), stored product pests (e.g., grain beetles) or predators of pest insects (e.g., ladybugs). Most, however, are small, cryptic beetles that are closely associated with fungi and decaying plant matter, making them important components in healthy terrestrial ecosystems. A collaborative research and training project between laboratories at the University of Georgia and Brigham Young University will assemble a group of outstanding graduate students and an international team of researchers with complementary skills and institutional resources to produce worldwide taxonomic treatments of several lineages within the Cerylonid Series, a subgroup of Cucujoidea. Phylogenetic analyses will be conducted using morphological and molecular data to form the basis for a natural and stable classification of these groups. The project will provide new information about the biology and immature developmental stages of these beetles. Evolutionary transitions in the cucujoid lineage will be examined, including trophic shifts (phytophagy, mycophagy, parasitism, predation), coevolution (e.g., with endosymbiotic yeasts), and the origins of inquiliny, gregariousness, and aposematism.The project will create a mentored learning environment at the University of Georgia and Brigham Young University for the training of two postdocs, four graduate students, and ten undergraduates in modern systematic methods, with an overall goal of enhancing taxonomic resources and expertise in cucujoid beetle systematics. The published results will be disseminated in scientific journals and through applications of modern technology, including Internet-accessible electronic identification keys, digital image galleries of specimens, digital reproductions of rare taxonomic literature, electronic species distribution maps, nomenclatorial databases, interactive databases of GIS-compatible specimen data, etc. Museum holdings of cucujoid taxa will be enhanced through curation by project participants and by augmentation of holdings with new material that will be generated through fieldwork. This project will provide undergraduate and graduate students with an unsurpassed educational and research experience by taking advantage of the strengths of the PI's and their sponsoring institutions, and by providing close interactions with renowned taxonomic expert collaborators around the world. When the project objectives are met, a large and difficult slice of beetle diversity will become more accessible due to the immediate impact of the published taxonomic products, as well as the long-term impact that the infusion of taxonomic expertise will create.