Dissertation Research: Molecular Systematics of the Genus Presbytis

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Recently, what was once considered one highly variable genus of "leaf-eating" or colobine monkeys in Asia, known as Presbytis, was subdivided into three genera on the basis of different sets of shared anatomical features. The separation of these three genera, Presbytis, Trachypithecus, and Semnopithecus, are now widely accepted by the primatology community. However, questions remain as to (1) whether they are "good" genera, that is each contains a series of species all derived from a common ancestor that is separate from the common ancestors of the other related genera, and (2) what the relationships are among the species within each newly defined genus. The proposed research attempts to answer these questions for one of the new genera, Presbytis. Biological samples will be collected from a number of populations of each of the seven species in this genus. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA will be isolated from these samples and surveyed for variation. This variation will be used to assess (1) whether each Presbytis species is indeed one species, (2) whether the Presbytis genus is indeed one genus, (3) the relationship of the Presbytis species to one another, and (4) the relationship of the Presbytis genus to the other Asian Leaf-monkey genera. Answers to all of these questions will give us insight into the evolutionary history of this very diverse group of primates, and the differential ability of variation in the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA to shed light on that history. Secondarily, it will also give us information that can be used to conserve these highly endangered mammals.