MIDGEPEET: A Collaborative Effort to Increase Taxonomic Expertise in Understudied Families of Nematocerous Diptera

双翅目，或真正的苍蝇，是地球上物种最丰富的生物群体之一。叮咬和不叮咬的蠓占物种的10%以上，其中不成比例的数量在经济和医学上很重要，包括那些以血液为食，传播疾病的媒介，并促进水生营养循环。研究将集中在网翅蠓，不咬蠓，弯月形蠓，沙/蛾蝇，黑蝇，和孤独的蠓;所有的分类学上具有挑战性，研究不足，专业人员不足。该项目将提供关于这些苍蝇的生物多样性和生态学的新信息，以及用于自然分类和生物学假设测试的系统发育框架。新物种将被描述，识别关键准备，并进行系统发育分析，使用形态学，分子和细胞学数据。项目小组将通过讲习班、综合方法和协作等协同进程，教育下一代分类学专家。这项工作将涉及现代技术的应用，包括互联网访问的电子出版物和识别码，标本的数字图像画廊，分类学文献的数字复制，电子物种分布图，命名数据库，以及与地理信息系统兼容的标本数据的交互式数据库。博物馆的收藏将增加实地考察的材料。长期效益将包括为科学界注入分类学和生物多样性专门知识。

Diptera, or true flies, are among Earth's most species-rich groups of organisms. Biting and nonbiting midges make up over 10% of the species, with a disproportionate number that are economically and medically important, including those that feed on blood, transmit disease agents, and facilitate aquatic nutrient cycling. Research will focus on net-winged midges, nonbiting midges, meniscus midges, sand/moth flies, black flies, and solitary midges; all are taxonomically challenging, understudied, and insufficiently staffed with expertise. The project will provide new information on biodiversity and ecology of these flies and a phylogenetic framework for natural classification and testing of biological hypotheses. New species will be described, identification keys prepared, and phylogenetic analyses conducted using morphological, molecular, and cytological data. The project team will educate the next generation of taxonomic experts through a synergistic process involving workshops and integrated methodologies and collaborations. The work will involve applications of modern technology, including internet-accessible electronic publications and identification keys, digital image galleries of specimens, digital reproductions of taxonomic literature, electronic species distribution maps, nomenclatural databases, and interactive databases of GIS-compatible specimen data. Museum collections will be augmented with material from fieldwork. Long-term benefits will include infusion of taxonomic and biodiversity expertise into the scientific community.