Dataset Information

Checklist of the flower flies of Ecuador (Diptera, Syrphidae).

ABSTRACT: Syrphidae is one of the most speciose families of true flies, with more than 6,100 described species and worldwide distribution. They are important for humans acting as crucial pollinators, biological control agents, decomposers, and bioindicators. One third of its diversity is found in the Neotropical Region, but the taxonomic knowledge for this region is incomplete. Thus, taxonomic revisions and species checklists of Syrphidae in the Neotropics are the highest priority for biodiversity studies. Therefore, we present the first checklist of Syrphidae for Ecuador based on literature records, and provide as well the original reference for the first time species citations for the country. A total of 201 species were recorded for Ecuador, with more than 600 records from 24 provinces and 237 localities. Tungurahua, Pastaza, and Galápagos were the best sampled provinces. Although the reported Ecuadorian syrphid fauna only comprises 11.2 % of the described Neotropical species, Ecuador has the third highest flower fly diversity density after Costa Rica and Suriname. These data indicate the high species diversity for this country in such small geographic area.

SUBMITTER: Marin-Armijos D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5672696 | biostudies-other | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Checklist of the flower flies of Ecuador (Diptera, Syrphidae).

Marín-Armijos Diego D Quezada-Ríos Noelia N Soto-Armijos Carolina C Mengual Ximo X

ZooKeys 20170817 691

Syrphidae is one of the most speciose families of true flies, with more than 6,100 described species and worldwide distribution. They are important for humans acting as crucial pollinators, biological control agents, decomposers, and bioindicators. One third of its diversity is found in the Neotropical Region, but the taxonomic knowledge for this region is incomplete. Thus, taxonomic revisions and species checklists of Syrphidae in the Neotropics are the highest priority for biodiversity studies ...[more]

PMID: 29200924

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Project description:BackgroundAnchored hybrid enrichment is a form of next-generation sequencing that uses oligonucleotide probes to target conserved regions of the genome flanked by less conserved regions in order to acquire data useful for phylogenetic inference from a broad range of taxa. Once a probe kit is developed, anchored hybrid enrichment is superior to traditional PCR-based Sanger sequencing in terms of both the amount of genomic data that can be recovered and effective cost. Due to their incredibly diverse nature, importance as pollinators, and historical instability with regard to subfamilial and tribal classification, Syrphidae (flower flies or hoverflies) are an ideal candidate for anchored hybrid enrichment-based phylogenetics, especially since recent molecular phylogenies of the syrphids using only a few markers have resulted in highly unresolved topologies. Over 6200 syrphids are currently known and uncovering their phylogeny will help us to understand how these species have diversified, providing insight into an array of ecological processes, from the development of adult mimicry, the origin of adult migration, to pollination patterns and the evolution of larval resource utilization.ResultsWe present the first use of anchored hybrid enrichment in insect phylogenetics on a dataset containing 30 flower fly species from across all four subfamilies and 11 tribes out of 15. To produce a phylogenetic hypothesis, 559 loci were sampled to produce a final dataset containing 217,702 sites. We recovered a well resolved topology with bootstrap support values that were almost universally >95 %. The subfamily Eristalinae is recovered as paraphyletic, with the strongest support for this hypothesis to date. The ant predators in the Microdontinae are sister to all other syrphids. Syrphinae and Pipizinae are monophyletic and sister to each other. Larval predation on soft-bodied hemipterans evolved only once in this family.ConclusionsAnchored hybrid enrichment was successful in producing a robustly supported phylogenetic hypothesis for the syrphids. Subfamilial reconstruction is concordant with recent phylogenetic hypotheses, but with much higher support values. With the newly designed probe kit this analysis could be rapidly expanded with further sampling, opening the door to more comprehensive analyses targeting problem areas in syrphid phylogenetics and ecology.

Project description:Urban landscapes are commonly considered too mundane and corrupted to be biotically interesting. Recent insect surveys employing 29 Malaise traps throughout Los Angeles, California, however, have uncovered breeding populations of two unexpected species of one of the most studied and familiar groups of organisms, Drosophila "fruit" flies. Unlike most introduced species of drosophilids, which breed in fresh or decaying fruits, these are specialized flower-breeders. A common species in the survey was Drosophila (Drosophila) gentica Wheeler and Takada, previously collected only once, in El Salvador. It belongs to the flavopilosa species group, all species of which have been known until now from central Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, to Veracruz, Mexico and the Caribbean, breeding in flowers of Cestrum ("jessamine") and Sessea (Solanaceae). The Los Angeles populations are probably breeding in a native and/or introduced Cestrum; in addition, populations in San Luis Obispo County were visiting ornamental Cestrum. Drosophila gentica occurs as far north as San Francisco, where it was found breeding in Cestrum aurantiacum. D. gentica is redescribed and figured in detail for diagnostic and identification purposes. Specimens from Jamaica previously identified as D. gentica are a distinct species but are not formally described in lieu of complete male specimens. Rare in the Malaise traps was Drosophila (Sophophora) flavohirta Malloch, a common species in Australia on the blossoms of native Myrtaceae, found on introduced Eucalyptus in South Africa and both Eucalyptus and Syzygium in Madagascar; adults feed on myrtaceous pollen and nectar, larvae breed in the flowers. It is also redescribed in detail, including its unusual egg. This is the first New World report of this species; DNA sequences confirm it is a morphologically highly aberrant member of the D. melanogaster species group. This study reveals how intensive field sampling can uncover remarkable biodiversity in even the most urbanized areas.

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Dataset Information

Checklist of the flower flies of Ecuador (Diptera, Syrphidae).

Publications

Checklist of the flower flies of Ecuador (Diptera, Syrphidae).

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