Dissertation Research: Morphological Versus Molecular Data in Reconstructing Phylogeny of Picinae

分子生物学和数字计算机的发展使生物学家能够以大大提高的准确性和精度重建进化历史（系统发生）。此外，通过研究物种的形态、行为、生态和生理特征，并以可靠的系统发育为背景，人们可以理解决定它们进化的过程。这项研究是基于分子数据的计算机分析重建北美啄木鸟的进化史。啄木鸟在北美经历了快速的进化，产生了许多具有不同和复杂适应能力的物种。此外，许多物种的地理分布与许多其他北美动植物类群相似；这些共同的模式是更新世冰期间断性冰川史的结果。这项研究将作为理解复杂地质时代的一个模型，它对美国动植物群的形成非常重要。

The development of molecular biology and digital computers has enabled biologists to reconstruct evolutionary history (phylogenies) with greatly improved accuracy and precision. Moreover, by studying morphological, behavioral, ecological and physiological characteristics of species with a reliable phylogeny as a backdrop, one can come to understand the processes that determined their evolution. The proposed research is a reconstruction of the evolutionary history of North American woodpeckers based on computer analysis of molecular data. The woodpeckers have undergone rapid evolution in North America resulting in many species with varying and complex adaptations. In addition, the geographic distribution of the many species is similar to that of many other groups of North American animals and plants; these common patterns result from the history of episodic glaciation during the Pleistocene Ice Age. This study will serve as a model for understanding that complex geological epoch that is so important to the formation of the fauna and flora of the United States.