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

新墨西哥州自然历史博物馆（NMMNH）的大卫哈夫纳博士获得了一笔赠款，用于研究美国西南部和北方墨西哥干旱地区的演变。这是与内华达州拉斯维加斯大学和墨西哥南下加利福尼亚的Noroeste生物学研究中心（CIBNOR）的科学家进行的合作研究。NMMNH的部分项目（135,000美元，3年）将支持在墨西哥和美国的实地工作，由此产生的标本将成为NMMNH和CIBNOR永久研究收藏的一部分。通过比较选定的适应干旱的啮齿动物种群之间的遗传差异，科学家们将详细重建这些不同沙漠地区在过去550万年中的复杂历史，包括海上航道的洪水，山脉的起源以及最后一个“冰河时代”的周期性气候变化。“这项研究将基于从整个沙漠地区收集的1600多个标本的线粒体DNA序列数据。该项目采用了一种新的和强大的分析方法，应大大提高努力，提供复杂的生物历史的现实重建。通过确定不同生物多样性的区域中心，这项研究将深入了解北美区域沙漠的生态和保护。这是美国和墨西哥科学家之间的持续合作，建立在以前的NSF赠款（1996 - 1999），并涉及来自两国的研究生和本科生在现场和实验室方面。该项目的成果将通过学术渠道（出版物和科学会议）以及通过NMMNH的公共方案和展览进行传播。除了博物馆每年350，000名参观者外，该项目还将通过Proyecto Futuro（NSF资助的西班牙语学生计划）和Way Out West（NMMNH制作的视频节目，在全国公共电视上播出）接触目标学校群体。

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.