PBI: All Catfish Species (SILURIFORMES) -- Phase 1 of an Inventory of the Otophysi

佛罗里达自然历史博物馆的拉里·佩奇博士获得了一笔赠款。费城自然科学院的John Lundberg和Mark Sabaj，加州科学院的Carl Ferraris博士，奥本大学的Jon Armbruster博士和康奈尔大学的John Friel博士，一起盘点和描述全球鲶鱼的多样性。鲶鱼是一种极其多样化、具有重要生态意义和商业价值的鱼类。目前已确认的淡水鱼有2734种，占淡水鱼种类的四分之一。然而，鲶鱼在世界上探索最少的地区是最多样化的，鲶鱼的实际数量可能在3600到4500种之间。一个由来自31个国家的201名参与者组成的团队，包括57名学生，将在5年内发现和描述所有未被描述的鲶鱼物种。所有鲶鱼物种清单的产品将包括一个完整的分类指南和物种的区域清单，研究更高层次的关系和改进的预测分类，将收集不足地区的大量鱼类样本添加到机构收藏中，以及一个网站（http://clade.acnatsci.org/allcatfish），用于向科学家、教育工作者、政策制定者和公众传播信息。该项目还将对许多下一代鱼类系统学家进行教育和专业培训。世界上许多地方的淡水生态系统严重退化，水生物种是最濒危的物种之一。与此同时，鲶鱼具有巨大的经济价值，在世界各地被捕捞用于人类消费、娱乐和宠物贸易。2000年全世界淡水和海洋鲶鱼的捕获量超过50万吨。保护生物学家和渔业管理人员依靠准确的识别和分布信息来确定保护区域的优先次序和制定明智的管理政策。了解像鲶鱼这样一个种类繁多、分布广泛的群体中的所有物种和更高层次的关系，将为水生生态系统的管理和保护，以及进化、生态学和保护生物学的研究提供前所未有的机会。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Larry Page, Florida Museum of Natural History, Drs. John Lundberg and Mark Sabaj, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Dr. Carl Ferraris, California Academy of Sciences, Dr. Jon Armbruster, Auburn University, and Dr. John Friel, Cornell University, to inventory and describe the global diversity of catfishes. Catfishes are an extremely diverse, ecologically significant, and commercially important group of fishes. The group presently contains 2,734 recognized species, or one of every four species of freshwater fish. However, catfishes are most diverse in the least-explored parts of the world, and the actual number of catfish species is probably between 3,600 and 4,500. A team of 201 participants from 31 countries, including 57 students, has been assembled to discover and describe all undescribed species of catfishes within a five-year period. Products of the ALL CATFISH SPECIES INVENTORY will include a completed taxonomy with identification guides and regional checklists of species, studies of higher-level relationships and an improved predictive classification, large samples of fishes from poorly collected regions added to institutional collections, and a website (http://clade.acnatsci.org/allcatfish) for the dissemination of information to scientists, educators, policy makers, and the general public. The project also will result in the education and professional training of many of the next generation of fish systematists. Degradation of freshwater ecosystems is severe in many parts of the world, and aquatic species are among the most endangered. At the same time, catfishes have huge economic value and are fished around the world for human consumption, recreation, and the pet trade. Worldwide capture of freshwater and marine catfishes in 2000 exceeded 500,000 metric tons. Conservation biologists and fisheries managers depend on accurate identifications and distributional information for prioritizing areas for protection and for making informed management policies. Knowing all species and higher-level relationships in a group as diverse and widespread as catfishes will offer unprecedented opportunities for aquatic ecosystem management and protection, and research in evolution, ecology and conservation biology.