Taxonomy, Phylogenetics, Behavior And Proteomics Of The Social Wasp Superorganisms (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Vespinae).

已授予库尔特·M博士一笔赠款。佛蒙特大学生物系的Pickett博士，他研究了在黄夹克和大黄蜂群体中发现的复杂的社会结构。 皮克特博士与合作者布莱恩·巴利夫博士（也是弗吉尼亚大学的）和詹姆斯·M。卡彭特（AMNH，纽约）将调查全世界所有黄夹克和大黄蜂的进化历史。 这种系统发育研究将依赖于形态学，遗传学和蛋白质组学数据。研究小组将调查黄蜂复杂的社会性的各个方面。其中包括殖民地成员之间惊人的“超级有机体”相互依赖性，在这种相互依赖性中，成员作为一个单一的单位密切地发挥作用。 就像人体内的细胞一样，黄蜂的种姓有不同的生理作用。特别是，似乎只有幼虫群体可以消化食物，有效地形成更高级别个体的胃，殖民地本身。 这项研究将为复杂的合作和劳动分工的起源提供新的进化视角。研究人员将培训本科生和研究生，并将为AMNH获奖的OLogy网站创建与研究相关的新内容，OLogy是一个免费的、科学丰富的网站，专为7岁及以上的学习者及其教育者设计。除了制作与黄蜂行为有关的手稿外，研究人员还将修改分类学，并制作所有物种的识别码。没有足够的钥匙存在，所以充分说明的钥匙将大大促进本科生和其他学生开始学习的任何方面的yellowjacket和大黄蜂生物学的教育，以及作为一个实用的工具，为应用工作者。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Kurt M. Pickett of the University of Vermont's Department of Biology for the study of the sophisticated social structures found in yellowjacket and hornet colonies. Pickett, with collaborators Dr. Bryan Ballif (also of UVM) and Dr. James M. Carpenter (AMNH, New York), will investigate the evolutionary history of all yellowjackets and hornets worldwide. This phylogenetic investigation will rely on morphological, genetic and proteomic data. The team will investigate various aspects of the wasps' sophisticated sociality. Among these includes the amazing "superorganismic" interdependence of the members of the colonies, in which members function intimately, as a single unit. Just like cells in the human body, the castes of wasps have distinct physiological roles. In particular, it seems that only larvae colonies can digest food, effectively forming the stomach of the higher-level individual, the colony itself. This investigation will shed new evolutionary light on the origins of complex cooperation and division of labor.The investigators will train undergraduate and graduate students and will create new content related to the research for the AMNH's award-winning OLogy, a free, science-rich website designed for learners aged 7 and up and their educators. In addition to producing manuscripts related to the wasps' behavior, the investigators will revise taxonomy and produce identification keys to all species. No adequate keys exist, and so the fully illustrated keys will greatly facilitate the education of undergraduates and other students beginning their studies in any aspect of yellowjacket and hornet biology, as well as function as a practical tool for applied workers.