Collaborative Research: Untangling Tropical Diversity: A phylogenetic Analysis of Tritrophic Interactions

摘要植物和昆虫代表了地球上绝大多数的多细胞物种。这些物种大多是热带的；然而，热带地区的大多数物种仍未被发现。拟议的研究有三个主要目标：1)发现并描述能够攻击多种植物食性苍蝇的寄生蜂种类；2)发现黄蜂利用寄主的模式；3)重建黄蜂的多样化历史（许多黄蜂物种的进化）。为了实现这些目标，研究小组和他们的学生将收集和饲养昆虫，分析未成熟阶段和成虫的DNA，并分析成虫的身体特征。这个项目解决了一个主要的生物学问题：多样化是由生物之间的相互作用介导的，还是多样化是一个生态中性的过程？该项目重点关注三组经济上重要的生物：与南瓜有关的植物；与主要农业害虫有关的果蝇；黄蜂会攻击苍蝇，对害虫控制有潜在的重要作用。本科教育是该项目的关键组成部分。本科生将参与研究的各个方面，包括热带地区的实地考察，实验室的分子数据收集和分析，以及研究的交流和传播。

Last Modified Date: 12/13/09 Last Modified By: Scott D. Snyder Abstract Plants and insects represent the majority of multicellular species on Earth. Most of those species are tropical; yet, most species in the tropics remain undiscovered. The proposed research has three primary goals: 1) discover and describe species of parasitic wasps that attack a very diverse group of plant-feeding flies; 2) discover patterns of host-use by the wasps; and, 3) reconstruct the history of the wasps' diversification (the evolution of many wasp species). To reach these goals, the team of investigators and their students will collect and rear insects, analyze the DNA of immature stages and adults, and analyze physical traits of adults. This project addresses a major biological question: is diversification mediated by interactions among organisms or is diversification an ecologically neutral process? The project focuses on three groups of economically important organisms: plants related to pumpkins; fruit flies related to major agricultural pests; and wasps that attack the flies and are potentially important for pest control. Undergraduate education is a key component of the project. Undergraduates will be involved in all aspects of the research, including fieldwork in the tropics, molecular data collection and analysis in the laboratory, and communication and dissemination of the research.