Showing papers by "Brian M. Wiegmann published in 2011"
North Carolina State University1, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation2, Dartmouth College3, University of Copenhagen4, Canadian Food Inspection Agency5, Natural History Museum6, Wayne State University7, National University of Singapore8, University of Chicago9, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign10, Smithsonian Institution11, American Museum of Natural History12, Simon Fraser University13, Iowa State University14
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that flies experienced three episodes of rapid radiation—lower Diptera (220 Ma), lower Brachycera (180 Ma), and Schizophora (65 Ma)—and a number of life history transitions to hematophagy, phytophagy and parasitism in the history of fly evolution over 260 million y.
Abstract: Flies are one of four superradiations of insects (along with beetles, wasps, and moths) that account for the majority of animal life on Earth. Diptera includes species known for their ubiquity (Musca domestica house fly), their role as pests (Anopheles gambiae malaria mosquito), and their value as model organisms across the biological sciences (Drosophila melanogaster). A resolved phylogeny for flies provides a framework for genomic, developmental, and evolutionary studies by facilitating comparisons across model organisms, yet recent research has suggested that fly relationships have been obscured by multiple episodes of rapid diversification. We provide a phylogenomic estimate of fly relationships based on molecules and morphology from 149 of 157 families, including 30 kb from 14 nuclear loci and complete mitochondrial genomes combined with 371 morphological characters. Multiple analyses show support for traditional groups (Brachycera, Cyclorrhapha, and Schizophora) and corroborate contentious findings, such as the anomalous Deuterophlebiidae as the sister group to all remaining Diptera. Our findings reveal that the closest relatives of the Drosophilidae are highly modified parasites (including the wingless Braulidae) of bees and other insects. Furthermore, we use micro-RNAs to resolve a node with implications for the evolution of embryonic development in Diptera. We demonstrate that flies experienced three episodes of rapid radiation—lower Diptera (220 Ma), lower Brachycera (180 Ma), and Schizophora (65 Ma)—and a number of life history transitions to hematophagy, phytophagy, and parasitism in the history of fly evolution over 260 million y.
755 citations
TL;DR: The large subfamily Bombyliinae is found to be polyphyletic and the data does not provide evidence for the monophyly of Tomophthalmae or the ‘sand chamber subfamilies’, and it is demonstrated that consensus networks can be used to identify rogue taxa in a Bayesian framework.
Abstract: Bombyliidae (5000 sp.), or bee flies, are a lower brachyceran family of flower-visiting flies that, as larvae, act as parasitoids of other insects. The evolutionary relationships are known from a morphological analysis that yielded minimal support for higher-level groupings. We use the protein-coding gene CAD and 28S rDNA to determine phylogeny and to test the monophyly of existing subfamilies, the divisions Tomophtalmae, and 'the sand chamber subfamilies'. Additionally, we demonstrate that consensus networks can be used to identify rogue taxa in a Bayesian framework. Pruning rogue taxa post-analysis from the final tree distribution results in increased posterior probabilities. We find 8 subfamilies to be monophyletic and the subfamilies Heterotropinae and Mythicomyiinae to be the earliest diverging lineages. The large subfamily Bombyliinae is found to be polyphyletic and our data does not provide evidence for the monophyly of Tomophthalmae or the 'sand chamber subfamilies'.
22 citations
TL;DR: Estimated genetic diversity in the Ukasi population show higher than expected allelic diversity and indicate possible gene flow and frequent population bottlenecks, and male-biased sexual size dimorphism was pronounced in adult M. hirsuta, with seven body-part measurements, including legs, larger by 33–61 % in males than females.
Abstract: Sixty-two years since last observed alive, Mormotomyia hirsuta Austen, the “terrible hairy fly”, was found inside and outside a large, cave-like cleft boulder at the summit of Ukasi Hill in eastern Kenya, the type locality of the species. Adults were observed climbing the walls of the boulder and walking on thick layers of bat guano, in which larvae and puparia were also discovered. Large numbers of M. hirsuta were observed on and at the base of the northern side of the boulder, which at the time of capture experienced continuous shade during daylight hours. Only three individuals were observed at the southern opening, exposed to direct sunlight and hot, dry conditions. A collection of vertebrate bones and skulls from layers of guano both inside and outside the cleft revealed several vertebrate associates, including two species of Chiroptera, Chaerephon cf. bivittatus (Heuglin) and Tadarida aegyptiaca (E. Geoffroy), which are probably the two major guano-producing species responsible for the larv...
11 citations