Insect diversity at multiple scales: from genes to communities

很少有单一的生物多样性计划跨越基因，物种和社区，但三者是相互联系的：遗传多样性是物种形成的原材料;物种是比较栖息地和地点的货币;社区受到物种相互作用的强烈影响。通过在所有三个尺度上评估多样性，我们可以更好地理解多样性的机制和由此产生的模式。我探索昆虫在遗传，物种和生态尺度的多样性。我的研究分类是苍蝇（双翅目），加拿大最多样化的昆虫。我的短期目标是在多个空间尺度上记录所有三个层次的多样性模式，特别是在苍蝇占主导地位的北极地区。我的长期目标是建立一个系统发育和生态框架，以解决苍蝇的多样性和优势的问题。我们探讨三个主题： 1.分类学：良好的生态学植根于良好的分类学，特别是在昆虫的多样性方面。我的分类学工作的核心是绿蝇科，这是一个在大多数陆地系统中占主导地位的大家族。类绿虫具有巨大的生态多样性，但未描述的物种和未解决的关系阻碍了对这种多样性的理解。新北区拟绿虫区系将是我们拟议的分类工作的重点，使名称和命名可用于生态研究。我们还将针对其他双翅目家庭，特别是多样化，但在北极知之甚少; 2.系统发育：我们需要系统发育假说来测试有关社区组装和结构的问题。北极双翅目的分布受避难所生存和冰后期扩散的强烈影响，但需要在遗传水平上进行地理学分析，以确定冰川事件的足迹; 3.社区生态：许多双翅目科在物种丰富度、丰度和体型上相似，但表现出很大的生态专业化范围。我们将利用这些家庭来测试生态多样性对社区结构的影响。我们还将测试是否在不同的空间和时间尺度上，在这些分类群的群落组装的进化，生态或中性过程驱动。

Few single biodiversity programs span genes, species and communities, yet the three are linked: genetic diversity is the raw material for speciation; species are the currency for comparison of habitats and sites; and communities are strongly influenced by species interactions. By assessing diversity at all three scales, we move toward a greater understanding of mechanisms and resulting patterns of diversity. I explore insect diversity at genetic, species and ecological scales. My study taxon is the flies (Diptera), Canada's most diverse order of insects. My short-term objective is to document patterns of diversity at all three levels at multiple spatial scales, especially in the arctic where flies dominate. My long-term objective is to build a phylogenetic and ecological framework to address questions on the diversity and dominance of flies. We explore three themes: 1. TAXONOMY: Good ecology is rooted in good taxonomy, especially in the diverse insects. The core of my taxonomic work is the family Chloropidae, a large family that is dominant in most terrestrial systems. Chloropids have enormous ecological diversity, but understanding this diversity is hampered by undescribed species and unresolved relationships. The Nearctic chloropid fauna will be the focus of our proposed taxonomic work, making names and phylogenies available for ecological studies. We will also target other Diptera families that are particularly diverse but poorly known in the arctic; 2. PHYLOGENY: We require phylogenetic hypotheses to test questions about community assembly and structure. The distribution of arctic Diptera is strongly influenced by survival in refugia and postglacial dispersal but phylogeographic analyses at the genetic level is needed to identify the footprint of glacial events; 3. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY: Many Diptera families are similar in species-richness, abundance and body size, but show a great range of ecological specialization. We will use these families to test the effect of ecological diversity on community structure. We will also test whether phylogeny, ecology or neutral processes drive community assembly in these taxa at different spatial and temporal scales.