Systematics of the higher flies (Diptera)

尽管苍蝇无处不在，数量丰富，具有重要的生态/经济意义，但它们是最不为人所知的宏观生物之一。拟议中的研究将整理出几个鲜为人知的果蝇群体的身份和关系，并将研究结果纳入彻底的分类学修订中。目前正在利用专门的收集技术、观察和图像记录，并辅以从世界各地主要博物馆借来的标本，收集研究资料。随着单系类群（属）的确定，它们将在大量形态学特征的基础上通过建立分类框架进行彻底的修订，重点是雄性和雌性终梢的复杂内部形态。在这项研究计划的过程中，已经发现了数百个新物种，几个新属，甚至一个新科，并将其置于适当的分类框架中。这样的框架允许组分分类群的识别，密钥的开发和系统发育假说的构建。将行为和分子特征添加到基于形态学的框架中可以解决问题领域并增加系统发育假设的鲁棒性。这项工作结合了传统的显微镜与新的数字技术和仔细的实地工作，以产生全面的，丰富的插图处理所研究的蝇科。研究结果将在网上和主要出版物上广泛公布。

Despite their ubiquity, abundance and ecological/economic importance, flies are among the least-known macroscopic organisms. The proposed research will sort out the identity and relationships of several poorly-known groups of flies, incorporating the research results into thorough taxonomic revisions. Study collections are being assembled using specialized collecting techniques, observation and image recording supplemented by loans of specimens from major museums throughout the world. As monophyletic groups (genera) are identified, they will be thoroughly revised by building taxonomic frameworks on the basis of large sets of morphological characters, with an emphasis on the complex internal morphology of the male and female terminalia. Hundreds of new species, several new genera, and even a new family have already been discovered and placed onto appropriate taxonomic frameworks in the course of this research program. Such frameworks allow for the identification of component taxa, the development of keys, and the construction of phylogenetic hypotheses. The addition of behavioral and molecular characters to a morphology-based framework can resolve problem areas and increase the robustness of phylogenetic hypotheses. This work combines traditional microscopy with new digital technology and careful field work to produce comprehensive, richly illustrated treatments of the fly families under study. Results will be made widely available on the web as well as in primary publications.