Abstract

The study of biodiversity is a fundamental part of the study of the ecosystem's function and stability and how changes in the habitat shape the interaction between species. In recent years, the classification of species benefited from the analysis of several types of data to aid the distinction of morphologically similar species. Enyaliopsis iaculator (Naskrecki and Guta, 2019) is a species endemic to central Mozambique. Different populations of E. iaculator were reported to exhibit differences in the time of the day the mating call is displayed, but no morphological differences were reported. Since call behavior tends to be species specific and it has been used to classify calling insects, the question of whether populations of E. iaculator with differences in call behavior belong to the same species or if there are more than one species within what is now taxonomically classified as E. iaculator still stands. Here, I took a holistic taxonomic approach to investigate the relatedness within populations of E. iaculator with different call behaviors using genetic, acoustic and morphological characters. Phylogeny reconstruction based on COII indicated a divergence between populations with different call behaviors. In addition, analyses of the acoustic signal and genitalia shape supported the existence of two lineages based on calling behavior. Together, these data suggest that taxonomically identified E. iaculator is composed of two geographically distinct species that should be managed separately with regard to conservation. Additionally, this study provided some insights on the greater phylogeny of the genus Enyaliopsis and the subfamily Hetrodinae.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2023

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Hoffman, Eric

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Biology

Degree Program

Biology

Identifier

CFE0009863; DP0028115

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0028115

Language

English

Release Date

November 2023

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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