REVSYS: Unlocking the black box of feather louse diversity, a comprehensive revision of the hyper-diverse genus Brueelia

虱子是鸟类和哺乳动物的寄生虫，其整个生命周期都在宿主身上度过。 它们与宿主的密切联系导致了某些群体中明显的宿主特异性和共同物种形成。 事实上，虱子是一个模型系统，用于开发分析方法，评估模式和速率的共同物种形成，以及调查生态因素的物种形成。 与其他虱子系统形成鲜明对比的是，尽管具有高度的宿主特异性，但Brueelia属的虱子似乎缺乏共同物种形成。 不幸的是，使用Brueelia作为模式是由穷人分类阻碍。 该项目将修订Brueelia的分类学，重建其进化历史，并调查共同物种形成，宿主转换和宿主地理学在这个超多样性属进化中的相对重要性。数据，物种检索表和拟议项目的结果将在科学出版物和网站上传播。 研究所将在2014年在犹他州共同主办的“国际Phthiraptera大会”上主办一个关于使用交互式密钥、分子、形态和书目数据库的讲习班。 PI将与犹他州自然历史博物馆合作，制作一个“教学手册”，利用寄生虫来解决关键的生物学问题。该工具箱将存放在犹他州自然历史博物馆，并免费提供给犹他州各地的教师。

Lice are parasites of birds and mammals that spend their entire life cycle on the body of the host. Their close association with the host has resulted in pronounced host specificity and cospeciation in some groups. Indeed, lice are a model system used in the development of analytical methods for assessing patterns and rates of cospeciation, as well as investigations into ecological factors governing speciation. In stark contrast to other louse systems, the lice in genus Brueelia appear to show a lack of cospeciation despite a high degree of host specificity. Unfortunately, the use of Brueelia as a model is hampered by poor taxonomy. The PIs will revise the taxonomy of Brueelia, reconstruct its evolutionary history, and investigate the relative importance of co-speciation, host-switching, and host biogeography in the evolution of this hyper-diverse genus.Data, species keys, and results from the proposed project will be disseminated in scientific publications and websites. The PIs will host a workshop on the use of interactive keys, molecular, morphological and bibliographic databases at the "International Congress on Phthiraptera", which they will co-host in Utah in 2014. The PIs will work in collaboration with the Utah Museum of Natural History to produce a "Teaching Toolbox" that uses parasites to address key biological topics. The toolbox will be deposited at the Utah Museum of Natural History and made freely available to teachers across the state of Utah.