Higher Level Phylogeny of the Lycaenoidea (Lepidoptera)

DEB-0447242：狼蛛总科(鳞翅目)的较高系统发育报告拟议活动的智力价值。丽蛾总科(鳞翅目：丽蛾科+丽蛾科)是一大类昆虫，其7000多种的生活史具有极大的变异性。Lycaenoidae分布于世界各地，其多样性的中心在东南亚，但两个重要的和未被研究的类群Riodinidae和Eumaeini主要出现在新热带地区，两者加在一起占Lycaenys多样性的35%-40%。本研究的目的是通过形态和分子特征的分析，重建狼蛛总科的进化史。360个属的代表，或者说刚刚超过估计的715个属的一半，将被抽样；每个标本将被评分超过125个特征，并对其4个基因(约3000个碱基对)的DNA进行测序。重点将放在丰富但鲜为人知的新热带动物身上。由此产生的进化关系树将被用来为该群体导出稳定的分类。它还将提供一个研究生活史进化的框架，并测试关于狼蛛总科起源和多样性的生物地理学假说。这项工作将集中在新热带地区的两个群体的辐射上：高度多样化的尤迈尼发条和神秘的多眼蓝纹。了解这些昆虫的进化史将阐明影响新热带生物多样性的历史和生态因素。该提议的一个优点是参与者的互补性：该项目是分子和形态方法专家之间的合作，以重建进化史，并将有助于我们理解如何最好地利用不同的和独立强大的数据集。该项目将专门培训分子和形态系统学方面的一名博士后研究员和一名研究生，并将有许多研究生、本科生、顾问和收藏家参加。主要调查人员(哈佛大学的皮尔斯和史密森学会的罗宾斯)在指导学生(包括女性和少数族裔)以及与拉丁美洲的科学家合作方面有着良好的记录。两者都是国际昆虫学联盟的成员。该项目将开发一个具有可搜索数据库的网站，使作为这项研究的一部分，在哈佛大学采集的DNA和组织收藏中的数千个标本可供专业人士使用，并将在哈佛自然历史博物馆赞助一场关于鳞翅目(飞蛾和蝴蝶)的公开展览，重点是对狼蛛总科的研究。这些序列将有助于世界各地的博物馆开发一个更大的数据库，使用DNA条形码来识别昆虫。最后，由于其复杂的生活史，狼蛛类蝴蝶特别容易受到栖息地破坏，在濒危物种中的比例不成比例(例如，美国的Xerces Blue、Karner Blue和使命蓝都是保护的象征；英国的大蓝；南非的Brenton‘s Blue；澳大利亚的Illidge’s Blue)。对影响这些昆虫灭绝和多样化的因素的了解将清楚地应用于正在进行的保护工作。

DEB-0447242: A higher phylogeny of the Lycaenoidea (Lepidoptera)ABSTRACTIntellectual merits of the proposed activity. The Lycaenoidea (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae + Riodinidae) are a large group of insects whose some 7000 species have extraordinarily variable life histories. The Lycaenoidea are distributed world-wide, with their center of diversity in Southeast Asia, but two important and understudied groups, the Riodinidae and Eumaeini, occur primarily in the Neotropics, and together represent 35-40% of lycaenoid diversity. The goal of this research is to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the Lycaenoidea by analyzing both morphological and molecular characters. Representatives of 360 genera, or just over half of the estimated 715 genera in the Lycaenoidea will be sampled; each specimen will be scored for more than 125 characters, and its DNA sequenced for 4 genes (c. 3000 base pairs). Emphasis will be on the rich but poorly known Neotropical fauna. The resulting evolutionary tree of relationships will be used to derive a stable classification for the group. It will also provide a framework to study life history evolution and test biogeographic hypotheses regarding the origin and diversification of Lycaenoidea. The work will focus on the radiation of two groups in the Neotropics: the hyperdiverse Eumaeini hairstreaks, and the enigmatic Polyommatus blues. An understanding of the evolutionary history of these insects will illuminate historical and ecological factors that have affected Neotropical biodiversity. A strength of the proposal is the complementarity of the participants: the project is a collaboration between specialists in molecular and morphological approaches to reconstructing evolutionary history, and will contribute to our understanding of how best to use disparate and independently powerful datasets.Broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity. The project will specifically train a postdoctoral fellow and a graduate student in molecular and morphological systematics, and will involve the additional participation of numerous graduate students, undergraduates, consultants and collectors. The Principle Investigators (Pierce at Harvard and Robbins at the Smithsonian) have strong records for mentoring students, including women and minorities, and collaborating with scientists in Latin America. Both are members of international entomological consortia. This project will develop a web site with a searchable database that will make the thousands of specimens in the DNA and Tissues collection at Harvard sampled as part of this research available to the professional community, and will sponsor a public exhibit on Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) at the Harvard Museum of Natural History emphasizing research on Lycaenoidea. The sequences will contribute to a larger database being developed by museums world-wide to use DNA "barcodes" for insect identification. Finally, because of their complex life histories, lycaenoid butterflies are particularly vulnerable to habitat destruction and are disproportionately represented among endangered species (e.g., the Xerces Blue, Karner Blue and Mission Blue in the US, all symbols of conservation; the Large Blue in the UK; Brenton's Blue in South Africa; and Illidge's Blue in Australia). An understanding of factors that affect both extinction and diversification of these insects will have a clear application to ongoing conservation efforts.