Dissertation: Phylogeny of Ephemeroptera:Evolution of the Subimago and Nymphal Gills With Implications on the Origin of Flight

Brigham Young University, Provo UT

Investigators

Abstract

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Michael Whiting and Mr. T. Ogden at Brigham Young University to study the relationships and specific adaptations of mayflies. The Ephemeroptera (mayflies) is a relatively small insect order of about 3000 species distributed throughout the world. These insects are considered by many to be the first organisms to have taken flight. Despite this interesting characteristic, relationships among this group and between other insect groups are virtually unknown. The three goals of this research are to (1) determine ordinal position with respect to the other insect orders, (2) estimate higher-level relationships of mayflies at the familial level, and (3) investigate hypotheses concerning adaptation of flight. This will be accomplished by: (a) Selecting numerous examples of mayfly and other related insects from throughout the world for morphological and molecular analysis; (b) Generating informative morphological and molecular characters from five independent genes in each these insects; (c) Subjecting these data to a rigorous analyses in order to establish a robust estimate of relationships (genealogies), which can be used to address questions concerning the adaptation of flight. The genealogical pattern produced through this study could be used for a variety of other purposes. For example, the results may also contribute to the sport of fly fishing, as mayfly larvae, which are aquatic, are the major trout food in river systems . In addition mayflies are one of the most important indicators of water quality. Results from this study could be used to improve project design and execution. Finally, this information will assist to make better and more informed decisions concerning biological diversity and conservation. Knowledge of the relationships of mayflies is important not only to science but also may be applied to a number of other areas of concern.