The butterflies in the genus Hamadryas are popular and noticeable representatives of the Neotropical Lepidoptera fauna. After a thorough taxonomic revision, 20 species were acknowledged within the genus, however no hypothesis of their phylogenetic relationship was proposed. The present dissertation provides a step further into the understanding of this fascinating group of butterflies not only by proposing the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus based on morphological and molecular data, but also by exploring for the first time in a group of butterflies the potential effect of venation associated with an specific behaviour on wing shape. Furthermore, this dissertation provides testable evolutionary hypotheses about the pattern of change for some of their most interesting natural history characters such as sound production and sexual dimorphism. The dissertation is organized in three chapters that can be visualized as manuscripts ready for publication; the first of these being already published (Garzón-Orduña, 2012).

<p>Taksonomija&nbsp; i&nbsp; sistematika&nbsp; su&nbsp; okosnica&nbsp; nauke&nbsp; o biodiverzitetu,&nbsp; obzirom&nbsp; da&nbsp; su&nbsp; osnova&nbsp; za identifikaciju&nbsp; i&nbsp; razdvajanje&nbsp; jedinstvenih filogenetskih&nbsp; entiteta&nbsp; (vrsta),&nbsp; ali&nbsp; i&nbsp; vi&scaron;ih taksonomskih&nbsp; kategorija.&nbsp; Rod&nbsp;<em> Merodon&nbsp;</em> Meigen,1803&nbsp; pripada&nbsp; familiji&nbsp; Syrphidae,&nbsp; podfamiliji Eristalinae,&nbsp; tribusu&nbsp; Merodontini.&nbsp; Vodeći&nbsp; je&nbsp; rod osolikih muva po bogatstvu vrstama u Evropi (124 vrsta).&nbsp; Sirfide&nbsp; predstavljaju&nbsp; veoma&nbsp; važnu&nbsp; grupu<br />organizama&nbsp; i&nbsp; njihov&nbsp; značaj&nbsp; u&nbsp; prirodi&nbsp; je&nbsp; vi&scaron;estruk (polinacija,&nbsp; regulatori&nbsp; brojnosti&nbsp; &scaron;tetnih&nbsp; insekata bioindikatori&nbsp; stani&scaron;ta,&nbsp; razlagači&nbsp; materija&nbsp; u raspadanju&nbsp; itd).&nbsp; Iako&nbsp; su&nbsp; se&nbsp; istraživanjima&nbsp; roda Merodon&nbsp; bavili&nbsp; brojni&nbsp; autori,&nbsp; dosada&scaron;nje filogenetske&nbsp; analize&nbsp; nisu&nbsp; u&nbsp; potpunosti&nbsp; rasvetlile njegovu sistematsku poziciju, kao i položaj taksona na&nbsp; filogenetskom&nbsp; stablu.&nbsp; U&nbsp; cilju&nbsp; &scaron;to&nbsp; boljeg razumevanja sistematike i filogenije roda&nbsp; <em>Merodon</em>, neophodno&nbsp; je&nbsp; analizirati&nbsp; genske&nbsp; regione&nbsp; koji evoluiraju različitim mutacionim stopama, kao i &scaron;to veći&nbsp; broj&nbsp; filogenetski&nbsp; informativnih&nbsp; morfolo&scaron;kih karaktera. U&nbsp; ovom&nbsp; radu&nbsp; su&nbsp; u&nbsp; cilju&nbsp; istraživanja sistematike&nbsp; roda&nbsp; <em>Merodon&nbsp; </em>analizirani&nbsp; molekularni (mtDNK, 18S rRNK, 28S rRNK) i 250 morfolo&scaron;kih<br />karaktera&nbsp; (pomoću&nbsp; binokularne&nbsp; lupe&nbsp; i&nbsp; Skening elektronskog&nbsp; mikroskopa),&nbsp; pojedinačno&nbsp; i kombinovano&nbsp; a&nbsp; upotrebom&nbsp; metoda&nbsp; za&nbsp; filogenetsku analizu-&nbsp; <em>maximum&nbsp; parsimony</em>&nbsp; (MP)&nbsp; i&nbsp;<em> maximumlikelihood (</em>ML). Analizirano je ukupno 329 jedinki. Pokazalo&nbsp; se&nbsp; da&nbsp; je&nbsp; u&nbsp; ovakvom&nbsp; tipu&nbsp; istraživanja neophodan&nbsp; integrativni&nbsp; pristup,&nbsp; odnosno kombinacija&nbsp; &scaron;to&nbsp; vi&scaron;e&nbsp; karaktera&nbsp; poreklom&nbsp; iz različitih&nbsp; izvora.&nbsp; Na&nbsp; osnovu&nbsp; ML&nbsp; stabla&nbsp; svih&nbsp; gena tribus&nbsp; Merodontini&nbsp; je&nbsp; monofiletski&nbsp; gde&nbsp; se&nbsp; vrsta<br /><em>Nausigaster&nbsp; meridionalis</em>&nbsp; pojavljuje&nbsp; kao&nbsp; sestrinska ostalim rodovima tribusa (<em>Azpeytia, Platynochaetus, Megatrigon,&nbsp; Eumerus&nbsp;&nbsp; tricolor&nbsp;</em> kladi&nbsp; i&nbsp; ostalim vrstama&nbsp; roda&nbsp;<em> Eumerus</em>).&nbsp; Rod&nbsp; <em>Eumerus&nbsp;</em> je parafiletski&nbsp; i&nbsp; sastoji&nbsp; se&nbsp; iz&nbsp; dve&nbsp; monofiletske&nbsp; linije: <em>Eumerus&nbsp; tricolor&nbsp;</em> klade&nbsp; (potencijalnog&nbsp; roda)&nbsp; i ostalih&nbsp; vrsta&nbsp; roda&nbsp; Eumerus.&nbsp; Rod&nbsp; Merodon&nbsp; je monofiletski&nbsp; prema&nbsp; analizama&nbsp; kombinovane matrice&nbsp;&nbsp; molekularnih&nbsp; i&nbsp; morfolo&scaron;kih&nbsp; podataka,&nbsp; 5&#39; kraja&nbsp; mtDNK&nbsp; COI&nbsp; i&nbsp; analize&nbsp; matrice&nbsp; morfolo&scaron;kih karaktera.&nbsp; U&nbsp; okviru&nbsp; roda&nbsp; <em>Merodon</em>&nbsp; detektovano&nbsp; je ukupno&nbsp; pet&nbsp; klada&nbsp; (<em>aureus,&nbsp; albifrons,&nbsp; desuturinus, natans&nbsp; i&nbsp; avidus</em>),&nbsp; odnosno&nbsp; četiri&nbsp; glavne&nbsp; evolutivne linije,&nbsp; potencijalna&nbsp; podroda:&nbsp; aureus,&nbsp; albifrons&nbsp; + desuturinus,&nbsp; natans&nbsp; i&nbsp; avidus.&nbsp; Mitohondrijalni&nbsp; geni pokazali su se veoma informativnim u sagledavanju<br />filogenetskih odnosa i izdvajanja većine klada, kao i grupa&nbsp; vrsta,&nbsp; &scaron;to&nbsp; ukazuje&nbsp; na&nbsp; veću&nbsp; varijabilnost sekvenci&nbsp; COI&nbsp; gena&nbsp; u&nbsp; odnosu&nbsp; na&nbsp; nuklearne&nbsp; gene. Nuklearni&nbsp; geni&nbsp; samostalno&nbsp; nisu&nbsp; doprineli rasvetljavanju&nbsp; filogenetskih&nbsp; odnosa&nbsp; između&nbsp; klada<br />(28S&nbsp; rRNK&nbsp; izdvaja&nbsp; samo&nbsp; natans&nbsp; kladu)&nbsp; u&nbsp; okviru roda&nbsp;<em> Merodon</em>,&nbsp; ali&nbsp; su&nbsp; izdvojili&nbsp; tribus<em>&nbsp; Merodontini,</em>kao&nbsp; i&nbsp;<em> Eumerus&nbsp; tricolor&nbsp; </em>liniju.&nbsp; Nuklearni&nbsp; geni&nbsp; su izdvojili&nbsp; i&nbsp; pojedine&nbsp; grupe&nbsp; vrsta&nbsp; u&nbsp; okviru&nbsp; roda <em>Merodon</em>,&nbsp; &scaron;to&nbsp; govori&nbsp; u&nbsp; prilog&nbsp; tome&nbsp; da&nbsp; nuklearni geni mogu biti informativni kako na vi&scaron;im, tako i na nižim&nbsp; taksonomskim&nbsp; nivoima.&nbsp; Mala&nbsp; varijabilnost nuklearnog&nbsp; gena&nbsp; u&nbsp; okviru&nbsp; roda&nbsp; Merodon,&nbsp; naročito<br />slučaju&nbsp; 18S&nbsp; rRNK,&nbsp; govori&nbsp; o&nbsp; njegovoj konzervativnosti.&nbsp; Utvrđeno&nbsp; je&nbsp; da&nbsp; morfolo&scaron;ki<br />karakteri genitalija mužjaka nose važan filogenetski signal&nbsp; za&nbsp; izdvajanje&nbsp; klada&nbsp; i&nbsp; grupa&nbsp; vrsta&nbsp; te&nbsp; upravo kombinacija&nbsp; različitih&nbsp; morfolo&scaron;kih&nbsp; struktura&nbsp; i njihova uloga sa različitim stepenom selekcije koja deluje&nbsp; na&nbsp; njih,&nbsp; uslovljava&nbsp; i&nbsp; njihovu&nbsp; evolucionu diverzifikaciju.&nbsp; Ipak,&nbsp; analize&nbsp; molekularnog&nbsp; i morfolo&scaron;kog&nbsp; seta&nbsp; karaktera&nbsp; pojedinačno&nbsp; nisu&nbsp; u potpunosti&nbsp; rasvetlili&nbsp; filogenetske&nbsp; odnose&nbsp; u&nbsp; okviru<br />roda&nbsp;<em> Merodon</em>,&nbsp; &scaron;to&nbsp; opravdava&nbsp; potrebu&nbsp; za kombinovanom analizom.&nbsp;</p> / <p>Taxonomy&nbsp; and&nbsp; systematics&nbsp; provide&nbsp; the&nbsp; framework&nbsp; for&nbsp; biodiversity&nbsp; research, since&nbsp; they represent a foundation for identification&nbsp; and&nbsp; delimitation&nbsp; of&nbsp; phylogenetic&nbsp; units&nbsp; (species), as well as higher taxonomic ranks. Genus<em>&nbsp; Merodon&nbsp; </em>Meigen,&nbsp; 1803&nbsp; belongs&nbsp; to family&nbsp; Syrphidae,&nbsp; subfamily&nbsp; Eristalinae, tribus&nbsp; Merodontini.&nbsp; Hoverflies&nbsp; play&nbsp; crucial&nbsp; ecological&nbsp; roles&nbsp; (pollination,&nbsp; decomposition&nbsp; and&nbsp; recycling&nbsp; of&nbsp; a&nbsp; vast&nbsp; range&nbsp; of&nbsp; materials, bioindicators&nbsp; etc).&nbsp; Despite&nbsp; the&nbsp; fact&nbsp; that genus<em>&nbsp; Merodon</em>&nbsp; is&nbsp; the&nbsp; species&nbsp; richest hoverfly&nbsp; genus&nbsp; in&nbsp; Europe&nbsp; (124&nbsp; described&nbsp; species so far), only few authors have dealt with&nbsp; its&nbsp; systematics&nbsp; and&nbsp; phylogenetic&nbsp; relationships&nbsp; of&nbsp; this&nbsp; large&nbsp; phytophagous genus. In order to understand the systematics and&nbsp; phylogeny&nbsp; of&nbsp; genus&nbsp; Merodon,&nbsp; it&nbsp; is&nbsp; necessary to analyze comprehensive number of&nbsp; gene&nbsp; regions&nbsp; known&nbsp; to&nbsp; evolve&nbsp; with various&nbsp; mutational&nbsp; rates,&nbsp; and&nbsp; as&nbsp; many&nbsp; feasible,&nbsp; phylogenetically&nbsp; important&nbsp; morphological&nbsp; characters.&nbsp; In&nbsp; this&nbsp; thesis, molecular (mtDNA, 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA)and&nbsp; 250&nbsp; morphological&nbsp; characters&nbsp; (with&nbsp; the aid&nbsp; of&nbsp; binocular&nbsp; and&nbsp; scanning&nbsp; electron microscope)&nbsp; were&nbsp; analyzed,&nbsp; separately&nbsp; and combined,&nbsp; with&nbsp; phylogenetic&nbsp; methods <em>maximum&nbsp; parsimony&nbsp; </em>(MP)&nbsp; and&nbsp; <em>maximum likelihood</em>&nbsp; (ML).&nbsp; In&nbsp; total&nbsp; 329&nbsp; specimens were&nbsp; analyzed.&nbsp; It&nbsp; has&nbsp; been&nbsp; proven&nbsp; that&nbsp; in these types of research integrative approach is crucial, as it considers a large&nbsp; amount of data from various sources. In ML analysis of all&nbsp; genes&nbsp; tribus&nbsp; Merodontini&nbsp; is monophyletic,&nbsp; with&nbsp; Nausigaster meridionalis&nbsp; grouping&nbsp; as&nbsp; a&nbsp; sister&nbsp; to&nbsp; the remaining&nbsp; Merodontini&nbsp; (<em>Azpeytia, Platynochaetus,&nbsp; Megatrigon,&nbsp; Eumerus&nbsp; </em>and <em>Eumerus&nbsp; tricolor&nbsp;</em> lineage). Genus&nbsp;<em> Eumerus </em>is&nbsp; paraphyletic,&nbsp; and&nbsp; within&nbsp; this&nbsp; genus&nbsp; two main&nbsp; monophyletic&nbsp; lineages&nbsp; can&nbsp; be identified:&nbsp;<em> Eumerus&nbsp; tricolor&nbsp; </em>clade&nbsp; (putative genera)&nbsp; and&nbsp; the&nbsp; remaining&nbsp; taxa&nbsp; of&nbsp; genus Eumerus.&nbsp; Genus&nbsp; <em>Merodon</em>&nbsp; monophyly&nbsp; is confirmed,&nbsp; based&nbsp; on&nbsp; all&nbsp; data&nbsp; analysis&nbsp; 5&#39; mtDNA&nbsp; COI&nbsp; and&nbsp; morphological&nbsp; dataset. Within&nbsp; genus&nbsp; <em>Merodon</em>&nbsp; five&nbsp; monophyletic clades&nbsp; can&nbsp; be&nbsp; identified&nbsp; (<em>aureus,&nbsp; albifrons, desuturinus,&nbsp; natans&nbsp; and&nbsp; avidus</em>),&nbsp; or&nbsp; four evolutionary&nbsp; lineages,&nbsp; putative&nbsp; subgenera: aureus,&nbsp; albifrons&nbsp; +&nbsp; desuturinus,&nbsp; natans&nbsp; and avidus.&nbsp; Mitochondrial DNA is proved to be very&nbsp; informative&nbsp; in&nbsp; resolving&nbsp; systematic position&nbsp; of&nbsp; clades,&nbsp; species&nbsp; groups&nbsp; and&nbsp; taxa, which confirms the higher variability of COI mtDNA&nbsp; sequences&nbsp; compared&nbsp; to&nbsp; nuclear genes. Nuclear genes alone didn&#39;t resolve the systematic&nbsp; position&nbsp; and&nbsp; phylogenetic relationships&nbsp; between&nbsp; most&nbsp; clades&nbsp; (28S rRNA&nbsp; identified&nbsp; only&nbsp; natans&nbsp; clade)&nbsp; within genus&nbsp; <em>Merodon,</em>&nbsp; but&nbsp; these&nbsp; genes&nbsp; confirmed the&nbsp; monophyly&nbsp; of&nbsp; tribus&nbsp; Merodontini&nbsp; and putative&nbsp; genera&nbsp; <em>Eumerus&nbsp; tricolo</em>r.&nbsp; Nuclear genes&nbsp; were&nbsp; also&nbsp; informative&nbsp; for&nbsp; some species&nbsp; groups,&nbsp; which&nbsp; implies&nbsp; that&nbsp; nuclear genes&nbsp; could&nbsp; be&nbsp; beneficial&nbsp; in&nbsp;&nbsp; resolving systematic position of both lower and higher taxonomic ranks. Low&nbsp; variability of nuclear genes within genus <em>Merodon</em>, especially 18SrRNA,&nbsp; proves&nbsp; the&nbsp; fact&nbsp; that&nbsp; they&nbsp; are&nbsp; conservative&nbsp; genes.&nbsp; Morphological&nbsp; characters&nbsp; of&nbsp; male&nbsp; genitalia&nbsp; carry&nbsp; the strongest&nbsp; phylogenetic&nbsp; signal,&nbsp; since&nbsp; they show a great evolutionary divergence in the shape&nbsp; and&nbsp; structural&nbsp; complexity,&nbsp; as&nbsp; a&nbsp; result of&nbsp; sexual&nbsp; selection.&nbsp; As&nbsp; molecular&nbsp; nor morphological&nbsp; characters&nbsp; alone&nbsp; couldn&#39;t fully&nbsp; resolve&nbsp; the&nbsp; phylogenetic&nbsp; relationships&nbsp; within genus&nbsp; <em>Merodon</em>,&nbsp; all data&nbsp; approach is proven&nbsp; to&nbsp; be&nbsp; necessary&nbsp; in&nbsp; this&nbsp; type&nbsp; of&nbsp; research.<br />&nbsp;</p>