Collaborative Research: Taxonomy, Phylogeny, and the Evolution of Feeding Strategies in Fossil and Living Mysticete Cetaceans

加州大学河滨分校的John Gatesy博士获得了一项拨款，用于研究地球上最大的动物须鲸(须鲸)的进化史。须鲸之间的进化关系目前尚未解决。这项拟议的研究结合了对鲜为人知的鲸鱼化石物种的详细分析，以及对现存神秘动物的全面遗传特征。不同的古生物和分子数据将被用来研究这些巨大的动物是如何在过去3000万年的地球历史中进化的。长期以来，鲸鱼一直吸引着公众的兴趣和注意力。因此，这项研究的一个重要目标是教育和公众宣传。这笔赠款的结果将被用作解释从祖先齿鲸到更具衍生性的须鲸的根本转变的框架。这个非凡的进化例子将被纳入圣地亚哥自然历史博物馆计划的一个新展览中。此外，本科生和研究生将参与研究的所有阶段，并将接受现代生物技术的广泛培训。最后，大多数神秘类动物都是高度濒危的，有几种濒临灭绝。这项研究收集的数据将为须鲸的保护提供关键信息。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. John Gatesy at the University of California, Riverside to study the evolutionary history of Mysticeti (baleen whales), the largest animals on earth. Evolutionary relationships among baleen whale are, at present, unresolved. The proposed study combines the detailed analysis of poorly understood fossil whale species, many of which were found in southern California, with comprehensive genetic characterization of living mysticetes. The diverse paleontological and molecular data will be used to examine how these giant animals have evolved over the past thirty million years of earth history. Whales have long captured the interest and attention of the public. Therefore, an important objective of this study is education and public outreach. Results from this grant will be used as a framework to interpret the radical transformation from ancestral toothed whales to the more derived baleen-bearing whales. This remarkable example of evolution will be incorporated into a new exhibit planned at the San Diego Natural History Museum. In addition, undergraduate and graduate students will be involved in all phases of the research and will receive broad training in modern biological techniques. Finally, most mysticetes are highly endangered, and several are on the brink of extinction. The data collected in this study will offer critical information for the conservation of baleen whales.