Tribe Microdontomerini (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Torymidae) - phylogeny and evolution

Superfamily Chalcidoidea (chalcid wasps) represent the most species-rich group of the Hymenoptera and includes 22 families. Family Torymidae is one of those families and it's monophyly is currently intensively discussed. This particular thesis aims at the tribe Microdontomerini (Torimidae: Toryminae). Species of this tribe are usually minute inconspicuous wasps (body length ranges from 2 to 4 mm). Recent progress in phylogenetics of chalcid wasps allowes us to formulate robust hypothesis of Microdontomerini evolution, as a component of broader study of Chalcidoidea phylogeny and classification. My approach combines molecular and morphological evidence to formulate the most plausible evolutionary scenario. Dataset of 35 mostly morphological characters for 33 taxa including all existing Microdontomerini genera and 10 outgroups has been scored. Almost all characters has been studied and documented using Hitachi S-3700N-VP scanning electron microscope. In 117 taxa, 5 nuclear genes segments (18S, 28SD2, 28SD3-5, EF1alfa, Wingless) and 3 mitochondrial genes segments (COI-LCOHCO, COI-JerryPat, CytB) were sequenced, to get together the final molecular dataset of 387 Kbp. Molecular trees were built using maximum likelihood and Mr.Bayes algorithms. Evolution of morphological characters were mapped on the..

Evolutionary Ecology of Termites

Termites are one of the most important ecological factors on Earth. By right, they are called ecosystem engineers. They influence their habitat by very complex ways - recycling of plant tissues, aerating soil, transporting huge amounts of organic matter. Thanks to their ability decompose up to 100% of local production of celulose and lignin, they are responsible for termination of coal origination. Their ecological and evolutionary succsess is based on organization of their eusocial community into several different castes. Precize distribution of tasks between castes is one of the crucial factors of evolutionary success of termites. It is the undertanding of their ontogeny and colony organization what is key to effective fight against pest species and, on the opposite, the key to effective help to those species important for decomposing and transport of organic matter in soil

Evolutionary Ecology of Termites

of dissertation thesis Evolutionary Ecology of Termites / Evoluční ekologie termite Petr Stiblík (2019) Abstract Termites are shaping the tropical and subtropical terrestrial ecosystems in many ways and on many levels, but their main contribution lies in their feeding strategy. They feed on dead plant tissues in various stages of decomposition, which is a very recalcitrant matter hard to digest. This is the reason why termites had established a broad range of associations with symbiotic microbes in their guts. Some termite species are also associated with microbes that grow in their nests, but the prevalence of these associations remains largely unknown. All these relationships underwent a long and delicate co-evolution, which is of intense scientific concern over a century, but the knowledge of their evolutionary ecology is still insufficient. Here, I present the latest scientific progress in both, termite phylogeny and termite microbial associations. Thanks to the recent studies, the cladistic relationships between the termite families are solved for a sole exception of Rhinotermitidae + Serritermitidae, although the β-taxonomy sometimes doesn't reflect the clades and should be updated. I present here my contribution to the research in the field of termite molecular phylogeny of family..

Hymenopteran parasitoids (Hymenoptera: "Parasitica") and their impact on hosts species behaviour

Recently, many scientists have been focused on parasite or parasitoid host's manipulation. They don't describe only the changes in host behavior, but they even search for physiological background. Lots of papers dealing with hymenopteran parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Parasitica) host's manipulation have been published. The most studied are strongly adapted and host specific parasitoids, koinobionts. They developed very sophisticated mechanisms to manipulate their hosts for their own benefit. These parasitic wasps are not only very diverse group of the insect, but they even developed various ways to manipulate the hosts and their physiology. Sometimes the parasitoids use their hosts like a "food's vehicle", sometimes they manipulate just rates of some metabolites or suppress host's immune reaction. If the wasp's life-cycle is successful, the host does not develope to the adult's stage and is often consumed by the parasitoid larve

Hymenopteran parasitoids (Hymenoptera: "Parasitica") and their impact on hosts species behaviour

Recently, many scientists have been focused on parasite or parasitoid host's manipulation. They don't describe only the changes in host behavior, but they even search for physiological background. Lots of papers dealing with hymenopteran parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Parasitica) host's manipulation have been published. The most studied are strongly adapted and host specific parasitoids, koinobionts. They developed very sophisticated mechanisms to manipulate their hosts for their own benefit. These parasitic wasps are not only very diverse group of the insect, but they even developed various ways to manipulate the hosts and their physiology. Sometimes the parasitoids use their hosts like a "food's vehicle", sometimes they manipulate just rates of some metabolites or suppress host's immune reaction. If the wasp's life-cycle is successful, the host does not develope to the adult's stage and is often consumed by the parasitoid larve

Evoluční ekologie termitů

of dissertation thesis Evolutionary Ecology of Termites / Evoluční ekologie termite Petr Stiblík (2019) Abstract Termites are shaping the tropical and subtropical terrestrial ecosystems in many ways and on many levels, but their main contribution lies in their feeding strategy. They feed on dead plant tissues in various stages of decomposition, which is a very recalcitrant matter hard to digest. This is the reason why termites had established a broad range of associations with symbiotic microbes in their guts. Some termite species are also associated with microbes that grow in their nests, but the prevalence of these associations remains largely unknown. All these relationships underwent a long and delicate co-evolution, which is of intense scientific concern over a century, but the knowledge of their evolutionary ecology is still insufficient. Here, I present the latest scientific progress in both, termite phylogeny and termite microbial associations. Thanks to the recent studies, the cladistic relationships between the termite families are solved for a sole exception of Rhinotermitidae + Serritermitidae, although the β-taxonomy sometimes doesn't reflect the clades and should be updated. I present here my contribution to the research in the field of termite molecular phylogeny of family...disertační práce Evoluční ekologie termite / Evolutionary Ecology of Termites Petr Stiblík (2019) Abstrakt Termiti ovlivňují suchozemské tropické a subtropické ekosystémy mnoha způsoby a na mnoha úrovních. Jejich hlavní přínos však spočívá v jejich potravní strategii. Živí se odumřelými rostlinnými pletivy v různém stádiu rozkladu, což je velice těžko stravitelný materiál. Z toho důvodu si termiti vytvořili vzájemně prospěšné vztahy s mnoha mikroskopickými organismy obývajícími jejich střevo. Někteří termiti si dokonce vytvořili symbiotické vztahy i s mikroby obývajícími jejich hnízda, avšak rozšíření těchto vztahů zůstává velikou neznámou. Přestože jsou termiti a jejich mikroskopičtí symbiotičtí společníci objektem zájmu vědy po více než století, naše znalosti jsou v jejich společné evoluční ekologii stále nedostatečné. Ve své disertační práci tak přibližuji nejnovější vědecký pokrok v oblasti termití evoluční historie s ohledem na jejich symbiotické mikrobiální komunity. Díky nejnovějším kladistickým studiím již známe příbuzenské vztahy mezi všemi čeleděmi termitů s výjimkou vzájemného vztahu mezi čeleděmi Rhinotermitidae a Serritermitidae, avšak taxonomii čeledí Kalotermitidae a Termitidae bude třeba revidovat. Proto zde předkládám výsledky současného výzkumu molekulární fylogeneze čeledi...Department of ZoologyKatedra zoologiePřírodovědecká fakultaFaculty of Scienc

Molecular Phylogeny Reveals the Past Transoceanic Voyages of Drywood Termites (Isoptera, Kalotermitidae)

Termites are major decomposers in terrestrial ecosystems and the second most diverse lineage of social insects. The Kalotermitidae form the second-largest termite family and are distributed across tropical and subtropical ecosystems, where they typically live in small colonies confined to single wood items inhabited by individuals with no foraging abilities. How the Kalotermitidae have acquired their global distribution patterns remains unresolved. Similarly, it is unclear whether foraging is ancestral to Kalotermitidae or was secondarily acquired in a few species. These questions can be addressed in a phylogenetic framework. We inferred time-calibrated phylogenetic trees of Kalotermitidae using mitochondrial genomes of ∼120 species, about 27% of kalotermitid diversity, including representatives of 21 of the 23 kalotermitid genera. Our mitochondrial genome phylogenetic trees were corroborated by phylogenies inferred from nuclear ultraconserved elements derived from a subset of 28 species. We found that extant kalotermitids shared a common ancestor 84 Ma (75–93 Ma 95% highest posterior density), indicating that a few disjunctions among early-diverging kalotermitid lineages may predate Gondwana breakup. However, most of the ∼40 disjunctions among biogeographic realms were dated at <50 Ma, indicating that transoceanic dispersals, and more recently human-mediated dispersals, have been the major drivers of the global distribution of Kalotermitidae. Our phylogeny also revealed that the capacity to forage is often found in early-diverging kalotermitid lineages, implying the ancestors of Kalotermitidae were able to forage among multiple wood pieces. Our phylogenetic estimates provide a platform for critical taxonomic revision and future comparative analyses of Kalotermitidae

Molecular Phylogeny Reveals the Past Transoceanic Voyages of Drywood Termites (Isoptera, Kalotermitidae)

Termites are major decomposers in terrestrial ecosystems and the second most diverse lineage of social insects. The Kalotermitidae form the second-largest termite family and are distributed across tropical and subtropical ecosystems, where they typically live in small colonies confined to single wood items inhabited by individuals with no foraging abilities. How the Kalotermitidae have acquired their global distribution patterns remains unresolved. Similarly, it is unclear whether foraging is ancestral to Kalotermitidae or was secondarily acquired in a few species. These questions can be addressed in a phylogenetic framework. We inferred time-calibrated phylogenetic trees of Kalotermitidae using mitochondrial genomes of ∼120 species, about 27% of kalotermitid diversity, including representatives of 21 of the 23 kalotermitid genera. Our mitochondrial genome phylogenetic trees were corroborated by phylogenies inferred from nuclear ultraconserved elements derived from a subset of 28 species. We found that extant kalotermitids shared a common ancestor 84 Ma (75–93 Ma 95% highest posterior density), indicating that a few disjunctions among early-diverging kalotermitid lineages may predate Gondwana breakup. However, most of the ∼40 disjunctions among biogeographic realms were dated at <50 Ma, indicating that transoceanic dispersals, and more recently human-mediated dispersals, have been the major drivers of the global distribution of Kalotermitidae. Our phylogeny also revealed that the capacity to forage is often found in early-diverging kalotermitid lineages, implying the ancestors of Kalotermitidae were able to forage among multiple wood pieces. Our phylogenetic estimates provide a platform for critical taxonomic revision and future comparative analyses of Kalotermitidae