Systematics and Biogeography of the Guatemalan Herpetofauna

9705277危地马拉坎贝尔有极其多样的爬行动物，但这个国家的大部分地区仍然缺乏开发，而且这个国家继续频繁地发现新物种。据估计，这个国家至少有10%的物种仍然不为科学所知。该项目将重点在最不为人所知的地区进行实地调查，并将产生广泛的新收藏，包括完整的标本、组织和照片。此外，这项对危地马拉爬行动物的全面调查将提供一个独特的机会，以获得关于它们的寄生虫的信息。可以预计，寄生虫物种的数量将比它们的宿主多至少一个数量级。内部和外部寄生虫将使用传统技术从两栖动物和爬行动物身上收集，并以符合博物馆长期保存和研究的方式进行准备。寄生虫学家的同事和他们的学生将研究和报告其中一些寄生虫的生物学。这些实地调查产生的其他寄生虫学材料将提供给一系列其他专家。作为拟议研究的直接结果，危地马拉将建立一个全面的国家爬行动物参考资料集，这将为该国许多不同研究领域的工作人员提供宝贵的帮助，包括分类学、生态学和保护。此外，还将开发一个计算机化的数据库，并在网上提供。该数据库将用于制作危地马拉两栖动物的清单、分布图和识别标志，并将把它们的寄生虫与宿主物种联系起来。

9705277 Campbell Guatemala has an extremely diverse herpetofauna, but most regions of this country remain poorly explored, and new species continue to be discovered frequently in this country. It is estimated that at least 10% of the species occurring in this country remain unknown to science. This project will emphasize field investigations in the most poorly known regions, and will produce extensive new collections, including whole specimens, tissues, and photographs. Additionally, this comprehensive survey of the herpetofauna of Guatemala will provide a unique opportunity to gain information on their parasites. The number of parasite species can be expected to be more numerous than their hosts by at least an order of magnitude. Internal and external parasites will be collected from amphibians and reptiles using traditional techniques and prepared in a manner consistent with long-term museum preservation and study. The biology of some of these parasites will be studied and reported by parasitologist colleagues and their students. Other parasitological material resulting from these field investigations will be made available to a range of other specialists. As a direct result of the research proposed, a comprehensive National Herpetological Reference Collection will be developed within Guatemala that will be a valuable aid to persons working in that country in many diverse areas of research including systematics, ecology, and conservation. Also, a computerized database will be developed and made available online. This database will be used to produce a checklist, distribution maps, and identification keys for the herpetofauna of Guatemala and will correlate their parasites with the host species.