Dissertation Research: Molecular Phylogenetics and Biogeography of the Genus Myioborus (Aves, Parulinae)

9801524布莱克新热带山地地区是高度多样性和特有的地区，因此是生物多样性保护的特别关注地区。由于它们呈岛状分布，这些山地地区为研究生物多样性的产生过程提供了一个自然实验室，包括种群和物种之间的进化分化。在这个项目中，我们将使用线粒体DNA序列数据来确定被称为热带红星(Myioborus)的鸟类物种和种群之间的进化关系。小莺分布在从美国西南部到阿根廷的高海拔地区，在中美洲、安第斯山脉和委内瑞拉高地(潘特普伊地区)有许多特有种，但也有少数种类广泛分布。委内瑞拉人和安第斯人之间的关系令人费解，因为看起来最相似的物种有时在地理上却最遥远。此外，委内瑞拉古代潘特普伊地区的物种是安第斯物种的祖先还是安第斯物种的后代这一耐人寻味的问题的解决，只能通过对它们之间的关系进行系统发育分析来解决。这项研究将使用DNA序列来建立关系，重建历史生物地理，并研究Myioborus身体大小和形状的进化，以及羽毛的颜色。研究结果将使我们能够在该属内建立分类界限，更准确地评估该种群的生物多样性格局，并有助于我们对委内瑞拉潘特普伊地区的生物多样性以及中美洲和南美洲山地鸟类之间的历史关系的总体理解。

9801524 Blake Neotropical montane regions are areas of high diversity and endemism, and are, therefore, special areas of concern for conservation of biodiversity. Because of their island-like distribution, these montane regions provide a natural laboratory for studying processes responsible for the generation of biodiversity, including evolutionary differentiation among populations and species. In this project, we shall use mitochondrial DNA sequence data to determine the evolutionary relationships among species and populations of birds known as tropical redstarts (Myioborus). The small warblers are distributed at higher elevations from the southwestern United States to Argentina with many endemics in Central America, the Andes, and the Venezuelan highlands (Pantepui region), although a few species are widely distributed. Relationships between Venezuelan and Andean populations are enigmatic because species that appear to be the most similar sometimes are the most distant geographically. Furthermore, resolution of the intriguing question of whether species in the ancient Pantepui region of Venezuela are ancestral to Andean species or are derived from them can be only by a phylogenetic analysis of their relationships. This study will use DNA sequences to establish relationships, reconstruct the historical biogeography, and examine the evolution of body size and shape, as well as plumage coloration, in Myioborus. The results of the study will allow us to establish taxonomic limits within the genus, more accurately assess biodiversity patterns in the group, and contribute to our general understanding of organismal diversification in the Pantepui region of Venezuela and of the historical relationships between Central and South American montane avifaunas.