EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF LICHEN MOTHS OF THE GENUS Agylla WALKER, 1854 (EREBIDAE, ARCTIINAE, LITHOSIINI)

• Grant number: 24/01515-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Simeão de Souza Moraes
• Grantee: Georgette Paola Ancajima Alcalde
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/02524-3 - Exploring the evolutionary history of lichen moths through an integrated approach (Lepidoptera: Lithosiini), AP.JP

Abstract

The patterns of diversity of life on Earth are the product of the accumulation of historical processes that shaped the distribution of taxa in time and space. Understanding such patterns and processes at a macro spatio-temporal level depends on the integration of tools from disciplines such as taxonomy, phylogenetics and biogeography. Insects, one of the most diverse taxa, are an interesting group for macro evolutionary questions, as in the case of Lepidoptera, which have already been used as models to unveil historical distribution patterns. However, moths, in general, are still little explored, despite its great diversity. Lichen moths (Lithosiini, Arctiinae, Erebidae) are one of the taxonomic groups that need to be better researched, in which the genus Agylla Walker, 1854 is one of the most specious with potential for investigating patterns/processes due to its disjoint geographic distribution , which covers several regions of the globe. Therefore, in this project we seek to unravel the evolutionary and biogeographic history of moths of the genus Agylla using an integrative approach interconnecting morphological taxonomy and molecular data to try to answer the following questions: i) how many and which species are valid for the genus Agylla?; ii) do the valid species make up a monophyletic clade?, what are the kinship relationships between them?; iii) which biogeographic event explains the disjunct distribution of Agylla species?, what are the times and modes of diversification and speciation of these lichen moths? To answer these questions, we will review public databases and material available in national and international collections. In addition, collections will be directed to obtaining fresh material for genomic DNA extraction. Kinship relationships between species will be estimated using specimens from all regions where they occur, with emphasis on those that occur in the Neotropical region. Consequently, the dispersal rates, divergence times and colonization of Agylla species will be calculated using a tree dated with Lepidoptera fossil records and a relaxed molecular clock. Our results from both will help to have a broader view of the taxonomic, phylogenetic and biogeographic status of moths of the genus Agylla, which can be used as a model for other groups of moths that show similar patterns in biogeographic history.