RUI: Evolution of the Endemic Lizard Fauna of New Caledonia

RUI：新喀里多尼亚特有蜥蜴动物群的进化

• 批准号: 0108108
• 负责人: Aaron Bauer
• 金额: $ 32.77万
• 依托单位: Villanova University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-09-01 至 2004-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0108108&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Evolution; Endemic; Lizard; Fauna

New Caledonia is an ancient island in the South Pacific that supports ahighly endemic terrestrial biota. Among vertebrates, lizards are particularly diverse (~ 20 genera). The evolutionary history of the endemic New Caledonian lizards will be reconstructed in order to evaluate how events over the last 80 million years have interacted to yield high biodiversity in a small insular setting. Drs. Bauer and Jackman at Villanova University will reconstruct phylogenies for all New Caledonian lizards based on a combined data set of morphological and molecular characters (DNA sequences). Phylogenies will be used to erect hypotheses about the geographic distributions of the organisms through time. A molecular clock will be invoked to distinguish between older lineage splits associated with the fragmentation of New Caledonia from Australia in the Late Cretaceous and qualitatively later divisions indicative of over-water dispersal. The historical biogeography of New Caledonia will be examined by combining phylogenetic information from reptiles with that from other organisms showing similar patterns of diversification within the island. Regions of congruent distribution of these taxa will be recognized as areas of endemism that will be analyzed using several current analytical biogeographic approaches. This research will provide a robust phylogenetic background for subsequent studies of the evolutionary morphology and ecology of the NewCaledonian lizards and will serve as the foundation for more detailed and sophisticated biogeographic studies of this biodiversity hotspot. The DNA sequence data collected will be made available for the use of other researchers, and museum material will be deposited in collections in the United States, Australia, and France for future studies. The project will promote international research cooperation (United States, Australia and New Caledonia [a French territory]) and will foster the professional development of undergraduates and a postdoctoral associate, as well as strengthen the research environment at a primarily undergraduate institution.

新喀里多尼亚是南太平洋的一个古老岛屿，支持高度地方性的陆地生物群。在脊椎动物中，蜥蜴特别多样化（约20属）。将重建新喀里多尼亚特有蜥蜴的进化史，以评估过去8 000万年来的事件如何相互作用，在一个小岛屿环境中产生高度的生物多样性。维拉诺瓦大学的鲍尔和杰克曼博士将根据形态学和分子特征（DNA序列）的综合数据集重建所有新喀里多尼亚蜥蜴的生殖系统。系统发生学将被用来建立关于生物在时间上的地理分布的假设。一个分子钟将被调用，以区分旧的血统分裂与破碎的新喀里多尼亚从澳大利亚在晚白垩世和定性以后的部门指示的水上传播。将通过结合爬行动物的系统发育信息和其他生物的系统发育信息来研究新喀里多尼亚的历史地理学，这些生物在岛上显示出类似的多样化模式。这些分类群一致分布的区域将被视为地方特有区域，将使用当前的几种分析生物地理学方法进行分析。这项研究将提供一个强大的系统发育背景的进化形态学和生态学的新喀里多尼亚蜥蜴的后续研究，并将作为更详细和复杂的生物多样性热点的地理学研究的基础。收集到的DNA序列数据将提供给其他研究人员使用，博物馆的材料将存放在美国、澳大利亚和法国的藏品中，供未来研究之用。该项目将促进国际研究合作（美国、澳大利亚和新喀里多尼亚[法属领土]），并将促进本科生和博士后助理的专业发展，以及加强以本科生为主的机构的研究环境。