DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics and Morphological Evolution of Leiodidae (Coleoptera): A New Perspective on the Evolutionary Determinants of Beetle Diversity

甲虫科广泛分布于世界各地，包括彩虹状食真菌动物、无眼洞穴动物、无翅洞穴动物和哺乳动物体外寄生虫，其形态和生态多样性十分广泛。对进化关系(系统学)的更好理解将使我们有可能研究这些不寻常的生活方式是如何以及为什么进化的。本研究将利用Leiodidae的5个亚科和所描述的19个部落的形态和DNA数据来确定该科的系统发育及其在隐翅虫总科中的位置。已解决的系统发育将被用来确定为什么一些以真菌或腐肉为食的甲虫谱系急剧多样化，而另一些则不是。昆虫多样性的研究传统上局限于共同进化系统，如物种特有的植物食性或寄生虫。这项研究将为多样性的进化决定因素提供一个新的视角，并将为未来昆虫生态地貌学、生物地理学和进化生态学的研究开辟一个新的模式系统。这项研究的分类学产品将包括南美洲、新西兰和澳大利亚温带森林中的LEIOIDID动物群的图文并茂的印刷和网络可访问的识别检索表。这些钥匙在保护、生态研究和教育推广中将是有价值的，特别是在智利南部高度受威胁的瓦尔迪亚沿海森林中。

The beetle family Leiodidae occurs worldwide and encompasses a tremendous breadth of morphological and ecological diversity, including iridescent fungivores, eyeless, wingless cave-dwellers, and mammalian ectoparasites. An improved understanding of leiodid evolutionary relationships (phylogeny) will make it possible to examine how and why these unusual lifestyles have evolved. This study will use morphological and DNA data from the five subfamilies and 19 described tribes of Leiodidae to determine the phylogeny of the family and its placement within the superfamily Staphylinoidea. A resolved phylogeny will be used to determine why some lineages of fungus- or carrion-feeding beetles diversify dramatically and others do not.Studies of insect diversification have traditionally been confined to coevolutionary systems such as species-specific plant feeders or parasites. This investigation will provide a novel perspective on evolutionary determinants of diversification, and will open up a new model system for future studies of insect ecomorphology, biogeography, and evolutionary ecology. Taxonomic products of this study will include well-illustrated print and web-accessible identification keys to the leiodid fauna of temperate forests in South America, New Zealand, and Australia. These keys will be valuable for use in conservation, ecological studies, and educational outreach, particularly in the highly threatened Valdivian coastal forests of southern Chile.