Die Morphologie der Trichoptera im Zeitalter der Phylogenomik - ein innovativer evolutionsbiologischer Ansatz zur strukturellen und verhaltensbiologischen Komplexität der Köcherfliegen (Insecta: Holometabola)

• Antragsteller: Dr. Frank Friedrich; Dr. Ralph S. Peters
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Systematik und Morphologie der Tiere
• Förderung: Förderung von 2012 bis 2015
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 225646270

Trichoptera (caddisflies) comprises about 14,000 described species and is one of the most strikingly understudied groups of holometabolan insects. Morphological data are highly fragmentary, the intraordinal phylogenetic relationships are still unclear, and the evolution of the group is only poorly understood. Key-taxa for understanding caddisfly evolution are the four families of "Spicipalpia", which very likely form no clade. The other two large subgroups, Annulipalpia and Integripalpia, are regarded as monophyletic. We will perform a comprehensive morphological study of external and internal cephalic and thoracic structures of larvae and adults, including representatives of all spicipalpian families as well as species of Annulipalpia and Integripalpia. Morphological data will be generated using traditional techniques (histology and SEM) in combination with computer tomography (¿CT). The obtained data will be evaluated and documented using computer-generated 3-dimensional reconstructions and made available in a suitable morphological data base (MorphDBase). We will (a) examine morphological structures that are directly involved in prominent structural and behavioural changes (e.g., evolution of case building, changes in larval feeding strategies), and (b) establish a comprehensive morphological data matrix for phylogenetic reconstruction. The phylogenetic results are compared with those obtained with an extensive molecular sequence data set (transcriptomes) in the framework of an international project (1KITE; see www.1kite.org), to which our project is closely linked. This approach will allow us to address the main issues of the project: (1) the higher level phylogeny of Trichoptera (using comparative analyses of morphological and phylogenomic data), (2) the groundplan features of Trichoptera and Amphiesmenoptera, and (3) the major morphological shifts in caddisfly evolution (with a focus on transformations of soft tissue characters such as muscles, nervous system, glands) and related shifts of behaviour and life habits.

• DFG-Verfahren: Sachbeihilfen