CAREER: Population Subdivision and Reproductive Isolation in Drosophila Silvestris and D. Hawaiiensis

价格9875785我们理解地球上的生物多样性的一个核心科学问题是，在种群内部和种群之间产生个体差异的生物过程如何转化为我们在物种之间看到的差异。生殖隔离是创造和维持这种生物多样性的最重要的生物过程之一。当来自不同种群的个体没有交配时，这些种群可以独立进化，并有可能创造出新的物种。夏威夷画翼苍蝇和夏威夷果蝇是一类高度特殊的动物，有500多个物种，仅在夏威夷群岛发现。由于熔岩流动和岛上气候多变，适宜的栖息地变得支离破碎，限制了物种在许多孤立种群中的分布。这项研究将使用分子遗传学技术来比较这些不同栖息地的种群之间的遗传隔离程度和生殖隔离程度。对这些生物过程的了解将影响夏威夷和整个地球的保护生物学管理战略。夏威夷群岛，特别是夏威夷大岛，为调查生物多样性的形成和维持提供了独特的机会。大约81%的鸟类、%的开花植物和99%的陆生无脊椎动物仅产于夏威夷群岛。这些动植物中的许多都受到威胁或濒临灭绝。独特的动植物，再加上许多物种的高度分散的种群，给岛屿的生物多样性保护带来了困难的挑战。该项目将被整合到夏威夷大学希洛分校正在开发的生态、进化和保护生物学项目中。环境生物学一般领域的研究和教育的结合对于保护夏威夷的生物多样性至关重要。

Price9875785A core scientific issue for our understanding of biodiversity on the planet is how the biological processes that generate differences among individuals within and among populations translate into the differences we see among species. Reproductive isolation is one of the most important biological processes for creating and maintaining this biodiversity diversity. When individuals from different populations do not mate then the populations can evolve independently and potentially create new species. The Hawaiian picture-winged flies and Hawaiian Drosophila in general are a highly speciose group of animals with over 500 species that are found only in the Hawaiian Islands. The fragmentation of suitable habitat due to lava flows and variable climates across the island restricts the distribution of species into many isolated populations. This study will use molecular genetic techniques to compare the degree of genetic isolation to the degree of reproductive isolation among populations in these different habitats. The understanding of these biological processes will influence management strategies for conservation biology in Hawaii and across the planet.The Hawaiian Islands and especially the Big Island of Hawaii offer unique opportunities to investigate the formation and maintenance of biodiversity. Approximately 81% of the birds, 89% of the flowering plants and 99% of the terrestrial invertebrates are native only to the Hawaiian Islands. Many of these animals and plants are threatened or in danger of extinction. The unique animals and plants coupled with the highly fragmented populations of many species provide the islands with difficult challenges for the conservation of biological diversity. This project will be integrated into an ecology, evolution and conservation biology program being developed at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. The integration of research and education in the general area of environmental biology is vital to the preservation of Hawaii's biodiversity.