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 博士获得了一笔资助，用于研究地球上最大的动物须鲸的进化史。 目前，须鲸之间的进化关系尚未解决。 这项拟议的研究结合了对人们知之甚少的鲸鱼化石物种的详细分析（其中许多是在南加州发现的）和现存须鲸的全面遗传特征。 多样化的古生物学和分子数据将用于研究这些巨型动物在过去三千万年的地球历史中是如何进化的。鲸鱼长期以来一直引起公众的兴趣和关注。 因此，本研究的一个重要目标是教育和公众宣传。 这笔赠款的结果将用作解释从祖先齿鲸到更衍生的须鲸的彻底转变的框架。 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，大多数蝠鲼都处于高度濒危状态，有几种正处于灭绝的边缘。 这项研究收集的数据将为保护须鲸提供重要信息。

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.