Abstract
(Englisch)
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The prime objectives of my five day COBICE visit of the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen were to strengthen my pre-existing collaboration with Dr. Rudolf Meier on sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in dung flies and, in particular, to initiate a new collaborative project on a particular group of Sepsid dung flies of the genus Themira. These goals were achieved.
As to pre-existing collaboration, size measurements on ca. 600 pinned museum specimens of about 20 species of Sepsid flies, including 7 Themira species, were finalized. This data set will be added to my pre-existing SSD data set on Swiss and German flies. Similar measurements on the Scathophagidae were already completed before. Additionally, I gathered data on body size and development times of male and female Meroplius fukuharai, which were reared in Dr. MeierÕs lab. This adds to my and my Diploma student Martino SignorelliÕs current project on the relationship between SSD and development time differences between the sexes in arthrophods.
The Themira project has been advanced and made concrete in several ways. (1) Dr. Meier showed me how various Themira species can be successfully reared in the laboratory on cow and waterfowl dung. (2) On one day we went to the field to catch several species of Themira, so I now know in which habitats and how to collect these species for our own laboratory stocks in Switzerland. (3) The SSD of 7 Themira species was assessed using pinned specimens (see above). (4) Repeated quantitative observations of the mating behavior of one species, Themira biloba, were conducted together with Dr. Derek Dunn, another COBICE fellow and collaborator from England, who was present at the same time. These data will be analyzed by Dr. Dunn. Themira in many ways behave similarly to the Sepsis species we work on in ZŸrich, so our existing behavioral protocols can in general be used. (5) Finally, Dr. Meier, Dr. Dunn and myself had ample opportunity to discuss the planned project in depth.
The current plan of our comparative study of sexual selection in Themira is as follows. The behavioral mechanisms leading to sexual selection on body size, as well as presumably on the prominent abdominal bristles present in males of most Themira species, will be investigated by Dr. Dunn in England and in our laboratory in ZŸrich. The necessary phylogeny based on molecular and morphological traits of the genus Themira will be produced by Dr. Meier and his students in Copenhagen. In ZŸrich we also plan on conducting quantitative genetic studies on male and female morphology of selected species. This is a long-term project that, if successful, will take several years to complete.
In addition, I had opportunities to talk to several other researchers and COBICE fellows in Copenhagen. In particular, I exchanged views on theoretical aspects of systematics and phylogeny reconstruction with Dr. Meier, but also with Dr. Nils M¿ller Andersen, another experienced systematist at the Copenhagen Museum, and his Ph.D. student Jakob Damgaard. I also exchanged views on more practical research matters with Dr. Peter Holter of the Zoological Institute in Copenhagen, an experienced researcher of the cow dung community and dung beetles in particular. Lastly, I gave a seminar in the ecology seminar series of the Zoological Institute organized by Prof. Coos Boomsma.
In summary, therefore, my five day COBICE exchange visit of the Zoological Museum & Institute in Copenhagen was intense, efficient and fruitful.
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