Systematics and Evolutionary Tempo and Mode in African Bovidae: Tribes Alcelaphini, Hippotragini, Reduncini

非洲牛科动物的系统学和进化速度和模式：Alcelaphini、Hippotragini、Reduncini 部落

• 批准号: 8907673
• 负责人: Elisabeth Vrba
• 金额: $ 22.82万
• 依托单位: Yale University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1989
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1989-08-01 至 1993-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8907673&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Systematics; Evolutionary; Tempo; Mode; African

The African antelopes promise the most comprehensive evolutionary studies in large mammals. Antelopes include more living and extinct species than does any other large mammal group known over the past 20 million years. Their fossil record is exceptional not only in terms of species-richness, but also in the wealth of dating estimates and paleoenvironmental data associated with it. Vrba and DeSalle are analyzing the phylogenetic relationship trees of three major antelope groups with abundant living and fossil representatives, by studying DNA molecules of living species, and skull characters of living and extinct species. DNA changes between pairs of species will be compared with absolute dates for the same lineages in the fossil record. This will allow 1) estimates of rates of molecular change in lineages and 2) estimates of absolute dates of the origins of new species by lineage-branching; and 3) comparison of nature of these evolutionary events with the nature of coincident paleoenvironmental changes. The powerful compound data set will test various, hypotheses of how evolution occurs. One such hypothesis whether there is synchronization across phylogenies of speciations (predicted if wide-spread climatic changes provide the common driving force that initiates evolutionary changes in many lineages) versus random distribution against time. The Family of humans, Hominidae, evolved over the same time period and African areas. In fact, by far the most abundant large mammal fossils found together with early hominid remains are the very antelope groups under study. Thus, the nature and timing of evolutionary responses in hominids will be compared with those of the co-evolving large mammal lineages. A comprehension of the rich physical and biological context of human evolution is necessary for understanding human origins.

非洲羚羊有望对大型哺乳动物进行最全面的进化研究。 羚羊的现存和灭绝物种数量比过去 2000 万年来已知的任何其他大型哺乳动物群体都要多。 它们的化石记录不仅在物种丰富度方面非常出色，而且在年代估算和与之相关的古环境数据方面也非常丰富。 Vrba 和 DeSalle 正在通过研究现存物种的 DNA 分子以及现存和灭绝物种的头骨特征，分析具有丰富现存和化石代表的三大羚羊类群的系统发育关系树。 物种对之间的 DNA 变化将与化石记录中相同谱系的绝对日期进行比较。 这将允许 1) 估计谱系中分子变化的速率，2) 通过谱系分支估计新物种起源的绝对日期； 3）将这些进化事件的性质与同时发生的古环境变化的性质进行比较。 强大的复合数据集将测试进化如何发生的各种假设。 其中一种假设是，物种形成的系统发育是否存在同步（预测广泛的气候变化是否提供了引发许多谱系进化变化的共同驱动力）与时间的随机分布。 人类家族，人科，是在同一时期和非洲地区进化的。 事实上，迄今为止，与早期原始人类遗骸一起发现的最丰富的大型哺乳动物化石正是正在研究的羚羊群。 因此，原始人类进化反应的性质和时间将与共同进化的大型哺乳动物谱系进行比较。 理解人类进化丰富的物理和生物背景对于理解人类起源是必要的。