Collaborative Research: Nested Events and Embedded Phylogeographic Structure within the Southern Regional Deserts of North America

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A grant has been awarded to Dr. David Hafner at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History (NMMNH) to study the evolution of arid regions in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. This is collaborative research being conducted with scientists at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and the Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR) in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The NMMNH's portion of the project ($135,000 over 3 years) will support fieldwork in Mexico and the U.S., and resulting specimens will become part of the permanent research collections of NMMNH and CIBNOR. By comparing genetic differences among populations of selected arid-adapted rodents, the scientists will reconstruct in detail the complex history of these diverse desert regions over the last 5.5 million years, including episodes of inundation by seaways, origin of mountain ranges, and cyclical climatic changes during the last "Ice Ages." The study will be based on sequence data of mitochondrial DNA from over 1600 specimens collected from throughout the desert regions. This project employs a new and powerful analytical approach that should greatly improve efforts to provide realistic reconstructions of complicated biotic histories. By identifying regional centers of distinct biodiversity, the study will provide insight into the ecology and conservation of North America's regional deserts. This is a continuing collaboration between U.S. and Mexican scientists, building on a previous NSF grant (1996-1999), and involves graduate and undergraduate students from both countries in field and laboratory aspects. Results of the project will be disseminated through academic channels (publication and scientific meetings) and through public programs and exhibits at the NMMNH. In addition to the Museum's 350,000 annual visitors, the project will reach targeted school groups through Proyecto Futuro (an NSF-funded program for Spanish-speaking students) and Way Out West, a NMMNH-produced video program carried nationally on public television.