DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Testing Hypotheses of Tropical Diversification in Leafcutter Ants (Atta spp.)

这项研究将检验关于驱动热带生物多样化的过程的三个假说。这些假说得到了广泛的讨论，并做出了应该广泛适用于热带生物的具体预测。乌尔里希·米勒博士和斯科特·所罗门博士将在这个项目中使用Atta属的三种切叶蚂蚁。将在每个物种的整个地理范围内收集样本，在美国和巴西进行的遗传分析将依次检验每个预测。该项目将首次用无脊椎动物来检验这些假设，无脊椎动物是许多热带生态系统中的一个组成大多数多样性的群体。此外，切叶蚁是许多热带栖息地的基本组成部分，有些物种是主要的农业害虫。通过记录三个这样的物种的遗传多样性，这一分析可能揭示新的、神秘的物种的存在。最后，阐明形成新物种的模式对于制定有效的保护战略至关重要，因为保护的目标不仅是保护现有的多样性，而且是保护产生多样性的过程。

This study will test three hypotheses concerning the processes that drive diversification of tropical organisms. These hypotheses have been widely discussed and have specific predictions that should be broadly applicable to tropical organisms. Dr. Ulrich Mueller and Scott Solomon will use three species of leafcutter ants in the genus Atta for this project. Specimens will be collected throughout the geographic range of each species, and genetic analyses, conducted in the United States and in Brazil, will test each prediction in turn.This project will be the first to test these hypotheses with invertebrates, a group that comprises the majority of diversity in many tropical ecosystems. Furthermore, leafcutter ants are a fundamental component of many tropical habitats, and some species are major agricultural pests. By documenting genetic diversity within three such species, this analysis that could reveal the presence of new, cryptic species. Finally, the elucidation of the patterns by which new species are formed is critical for the establishment of effective conservation strategies, since the goal of conservation is to preserve not only existing diversity but also the processes by which diversity is generated.