Phenotypic evolution and patterns of bee diversification (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila)

• Grant number: 18/19277-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: January 29, 2019
• End date: July 01, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Eduardo Andrade Botelho de Almeida
• Grantee: Diego Sasso Porto
• Supervisor: Matthew Pennell
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of British Columbia, Vancouver (UBC), Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/15347-1 - Phylogenetic relationships and comparative internal morphology of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila), BP.DR

Abstract

Bees form a diverse group of insects that includes more than 20,000 known species, exhibiting an impressive disparity of sizes, shapes and behaviors. Bees in general and corbiculate bees in particular are an exceptional model to investigate the patterns of phenotypic evolution and lineage diversification. Among the characteristics of bees that make them an interesting model for this kind of study are the following: (1) they are notorious for their close association with angiosperms and adaptations to this biology; (2) corbiculate bees are extraordinarily variable in terms of social and parasitic behaviors; (3) they have more than a hundred million years of phenotypic evolution. In this proposal, I present a plan for (1) expanding the knowledge about evolutionary history of the corbiculate bees, and (2) conducting novel investigations on evolution of phenotypic traits and lineage diversification patterns in bees. To accomplish these goals, an internship of 6 months is proposed under the supervision of Dr. Matthew Pennell at the University of British Columbia (Canada). This project will take advantage of the large dataset already generated on course of the PhD research of the applicant, as well as the expertise of Dr. Pennell with development of computational tools for comparative research. Hypotheses of lineage diversification shifts, trait-dependent diversification and integrate morphological evolution will be addressed for multiple discrete morphological characters of bees. I expect to propose new hypotheses on the macroevolutionary patterns for bees, with special emphasis in the corbiculate clade, while investigating links between morphological evolution and lineage diversification.

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.; 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)