Biochemical Systematics of Pupfishes

这项拟议的研究将利用线粒体DNA和蛋白质的分析来研究杂色鲤复合体成员之间的关系。这种复杂的物种包括一种分布广泛的物种（C. variegatus），从马萨诸塞州到墨西哥的坦皮科，以及从巴哈马到牙买加的西印度群岛。其余的20种所占的面积较小，主要分布在变异蠓的分布范围内或接近其分布范围的边缘。研究的主要目标是：1)了解广域物种地理变异的主要模式；2)将这种变异与地理上更受限制的物种的进化关系联系起来；3)利用研究结果评估生物地理学假设和物种形成模式。特别令人感兴趣的问题是，广域物种C. variegatus的种群与其他物种的关系是否比与自己物种的种群关系更密切。如果是这样，那么广域物种的形态对于复合体来说是原始的，它包含一个或多个隐物种。这些结果将对未来对生物地理学特别感兴趣的地区的动物起源进行评估具有重要意义；例如，西印度群岛和墨西哥湾西海岸。

The proposed research would use an analysis of mitochondrial DNA and proteins to study relationships among members of Cyprinodon variegatus complex of pupfishes. The species of this complex include one wide-ranging species (C. variegatus) that occurs from Massachusetts to Tampico, Mexico and in the West Indies from the Bahamas to Jamaica. The remaining 20 species of the complex occupy much smaller areas, primarily within the range of C. variegatus or near the periphery of its range. the primary objectives are 1) to understand the major patterns of geographic variation in the wide-ranging species, 2) to relate this variation to the evolutionary relationships of the geographically more restricted species, and 3) to use the results to evaluate biogeographic hypotheses and modes of speciation for the complex. Of special interest is the question of whether populations of the wide-ranging species, C. variegatus, might be more closely related to other species than to populations of their own species. If so, then the morphology of the wide-ranging species is primitive for the complex and it comprises one or more cryptic species. The results will be important in future assessments of faunal origins for regions of particular interest in biogeography; for example, the West Indies and the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico.