| title: | Major clades and phylogeographic patterns in the sawfly tribes Dolerini and Empriini (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae) with taxonomy and autecology of some cryptic species groups. |
|---|---|
| reg no: | ETF6598 |
| project type: | Estonian Science Foundation research grant |
| subject: |
1.15. Zoology |
| status: | accepted |
| institution: | TU Faculty of Biology and Geography |
| head of project: | Mikk Heidemaa |
| duration: | 01.01.2006 - 31.12.2009 |
| description: | Well-founded phylogenetic hypotheses serve as the basis for experimentally testable predictions about the evolution of many biological systems, from biochemical and physiological systems, to behavioural studies. The many levels of hypothesis testing in systematics, from characters to species to clades are essential for all evolutionary biology. Based exclusively on imaginal morphology the preliminary phylogenetic system of the Nearctic Dolerini has been proposed. However, this is insufficiest for creating a solid phylogenetic system for Holarctic Dolerini as majority of the Palearctic lineages were not included. We intend to add even more diverse Palearctic members of the group and using the DNA sequence data to work out a phylogenetic classification of the holarctic Dolerini. The tribus Dolerini is selected as a model group of exophagous tenthredinids because this lineage is supposedly a basal among tenthredinidae (their larvae feed on more primitive plant families), diverse in Nearctic and Palearctic and the fauna of both regions is relatively well studied in general but includes still several cryptic species groups. In addition a less diverse but more derived holarctic tenthredinid tribus Empriini, the larvae of which feed on more advanced plant families, is selected for phylogeographical comparisons. Defining the main clades in the tribe Empriini, resolving the taxonomy of the presumably cryptic species groups, and describing their larvae is also intended. The study is expected to reveal phylogenetic relationships in the holarctic Dolerini and Empriini, thus enabling important comparisons of diversity and adaptations between the shared lineages in Palearctic and Nearctic region. The main objectives of the proposed grant project are as follows: - Revealing the main clades and phylogeographical patterns in the holarctic Dolerini and Empriini. - Comparative analysis and synthesis of all relevant biological information available for these groups in the light of molecular phylogeny. - Resolving the taxonomy and nomenclature of most critical cryptic species groups of Dolerini and Empriini in western Palearctic. - Creating a taxonomic expert system accessible in the Internet that aids to identify imagoes and larvae of all taxonomically problematical species groups and easy access to the relevant biological and distributional information. |
| project group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| no | name | institution | position | |
| 1. | Mikk Heidemaa | Tartu Ülikool | ||
| 2. | Keijo Sarv | |||
| 3. | Erki Õunap | |||