PEET: Partnership for Training New Experts on Auchenorrhyncha (Insecta: Hemiptera)

蝉类(蝉类、叶蝉类、飞虱类、唾虫类和树蝉类)是一类种类繁多、经济上重要但研究较少的主要吸汁性昆虫。目前已知的物种约为42,000种，但最近的采样表明，现存物种的真实数量可能要高出许多倍。近几十年来，能够识别这些昆虫的专家(分类学家)的数量急剧下降，这一趋势直到最近才开始逆转，因为之前的NSF Peet奖侧重于培训膜总科(叶蝉和树蝉)方面的新专家，膜总科是金龟科四个主要种群中最大的一个。这个新项目将在前一个奖项的基础上，通过培训其他三个组的专家来取得成功：蝉总科(蝉)、蝉总科(唾虫)和叶蝉总科(飞虱)。该项目代表了纽约州博物馆、伊利诺伊州自然历史调查局、康涅狄格大学和包括退休人员在内的国际合作者团队的合作伙伴关系，他们的专业知识涵盖了所有主要的奥克希诺伦查分类群。具体目标包括：(1)培训至少一名新的秋蝉总科的分类学专家；(2)开发可上网的蝉总科、蝉总科和叶蝉总科部分种群的数据库，以补充已为膜总科编制的数据库；(3)从已知有多种动物群的取样较少的地区获得适合进行形态和分子研究的标本；(4)对四个总科的物种描述进行全面的种一级形态修订；(5)通过传统出版物和因特网传播结果(鉴定检索表、描述、系统发生或谱系树、地理分布图和命名分类数据)。该项目的创新方面包括：采取协调一致的方式进行培训，有若干专家参与，具有互补的专门知识；利用先进工具有效地综合分类信息，并以电子和传统格式编制经改进的分类和鉴定工具；预期的系统发育结果适用于系统学和进化中的基本概念问题。所有生物学研究都依赖于准确的物种识别和分类，尽可能反映系统发育关系。通过改善人力资源和科学基础设施，以满足一大群研究较少的植物食性昆虫的这些需求，该项目将对基础生物学和应用生物学的许多领域产生持久的影响。该项目产生的人员和产品将作为基础生物研究社区、致力于改进农业害虫诊断和管理方法的经济和生态昆虫学家的大型社区以及对保护受威胁物种和栖息地感兴趣的保护生物学家社区的资源。对整个社会的好处包括教育新一代具有专门知识的生物科学家，通过互联网传播改进的教育工具，通过准确识别植物病媒和其他害虫改善粮食安全，以及改进对入侵物种等环境威胁的检测。

Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, spittlebugs, and treehoppers) is a diverse and economically important but poorly studied group of mostly sap-sucking insects. Approximately 42,000 species are known, but recent sampling suggests that the true number of extant species may be many times higher. The number of experts (taxonomists) capable of identifying these insects has declined precipitously in recent decades, and this trend has only recently begun to be reversed through a previous NSF PEET award focused on training new experts in Membracoidea (leafhoppers and treehoppers), the largest of the four main groups of Auchenorrhyncha. The new project will build on the success of the previous award by training experts in the other three groups: Cicadoidea (cicadas), Cercopoidea (spittlebugs), and Fulgoroidea (planthoppers). The project represents a partnership between the New York State Museum, Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Connecticut, and an international team of collaborators, including retirees, with expertise covering all major auchenorrhynchan taxa. Specific goals include: (1) train at least one new expert in the systematics of each of the four Auchenorrhyncha superfamilies; (2) develop Internet-accessible databases for species of Cercopoidea, Cicadoidea, and selected groups of Fulgoroidea to complement those already developed for Membracoidea; (3) obtain Auchenorrhyncha specimens suitable for morphological and molecular study from poorly sampled areas known to harbor diverse faunas; (4) complete species-level morphology-based revisions of species descriptions within each of the four superfamilies; (5) disseminate results (identification keys, descriptions, phylogenies or genealogy trees, geographic distribution maps and nomenclatural data) through traditional publication and the Internet. Innovative aspects of the project include its coordinated approach to training, involving several experts with complementary expertise; the use of advanced tools for the efficient synthesis of taxonomic information and production of improved classifications and identification tools in electronic and traditional formats; and the applicability of the anticipated phylogenetic results to basic conceptual issues in systematics and evolution.All biological research depends on accurate species identifications and taxonomic classifications that reflect, to the extent possible, phylogenetic relationships. By improving the human resources and scientific infrastructure needed to meet these needs for a large and poorly studied group of plant-feeding insects, this project will have lasting impact on many areas of basic and applied biology. The personnel and products resulting from this project will serve as resources for the basic biological research community, the large community of economic and ecological entomologists working toward improved methods for diagnosing and managing agricultural pests, and the community of conservation biologists interested in conserving threatened species and habitats. Benefits to society at large include the education of a new generation of biological scientists with specialized expertise, dissemination of improved educational tools via the Internet, improved food security through accurate identification of plant disease vectors and other pests, and improved detection of environmental threats such as invasive species.