Phylogenetic relationships and comparative internal morphology of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila)

• Grant number: 15/15347-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2016
• End date: October 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Eduardo Andrade Botelho de Almeida
• Grantee: Diego Sasso Porto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 11/09477-9 - Taxonomy, phylogeny, biogeography, and evolution of Neopasiphaeinae bees (Hymenoptera: Colletidae) using molecular and morphological data, AP.JP
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/19277-6 - Phenotypic evolution and patterns of bee diversification (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila), BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Bees are one of the most conspicuous and abundant groups included into the order Hymenoptera. Its diversity of living taxa - about 20,000 valid species - is the result of approximately 120 million years of evolution, reflected by the notoriously morphological and behavioral disparity of its representative taxa. The group offers an intriguing model for comparative investigations associating the understanding of the evolution of morphological traits with macro-evolutionary factors. In this way, a phylogenetic background becomes indispensable. Despite the considerable increase of phylogenetic knowledge about bees gained during the last three decades, important questions endure. Phylogenetic placement of various taxa remain controversial, mainly because of the lack of appropriate investigations. This kind of uncertainty could be alleviated with the addition and refinement of data. This project aims at elucidating the phylogenetic relationships among the main linages of bees utilizing sets of morphological data underexplored in the literature-particularly characters from internal skeletal morphology. To accomplish this 87 species will be sampled, representing 26 subfamilies and 61 tribes of the main clades of bees. The terminal taxa will have their morphology studied employing traditional optical microscopy techniques, allied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tridimensional reconstructions by nano-tomography (nano-CT scan). The resultant dataset will be used in subsequent phylogenetic analyses, which are expected to provide revised foundations to the understanding of evolution of suites morphological traits in bees.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PORTO, DIEGO SASSO; ALMEIDA, EDUARDO A. B.. Corbiculate Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Exploring the Limits of Morphological Data to Solve a Hard Phylogenetic Problem. INSECT SYSTEMATICS AND DIVERSITY, v. 5, n. 3, MAY 2021. (18/19277-6, 14/10090-0, 12/22261-8, 18/09666-5, 15/15347-1)

PORTO, DIEGO S.; ALMEIDA, EDUARDO A. B.. A comparative study of the pharyngeal plate of Apoidea (Hymenoptera: Aculeata), with implications for the understanding of phylogenetic relationships of bees. ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT, v. 50, p. 64-77, MAY 2019. (18/09666-5, 15/15347-1, 11/09477-9)

PORTO, DIEGO S.; ALMEIDA, EDUARDO A. B.; PENNELL, MATTHEW W.. Investigating Morphological Complexes Using Informational Dissonance and Bayes Factors: A Case Study in Corbiculate Bees. Systematic Biology, v. 70, n. 2, p. 295-306, MAR 2021. (15/15347-1, 18/09666-5, 18/19277-6)