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、费城自然科学院的约翰·伦德伯格博士和马克·萨巴伊博士、加州科学院的卡尔·费拉里斯博士、奥本大学的乔恩·阿姆布鲁斯特博士和康奈尔大学的约翰·弗里尔博士获得了一项赠款，以清查和描述全球鲶鱼的多样性。鲶鱼是一类极其多样、具有重要生态意义和重要商业价值的鱼类。该群体目前有2734个公认物种，或者说每四个淡水鱼物种中就有一个。然而，在世界上最少被开发的地区，鲶鱼的种类最多，实际的鲶鱼种类可能在3600到4500之间。一个由来自31个国家的201名参与者组成的团队，其中包括57名学生，在五年的时间里发现并描述了所有未描述的鲶鱼物种。所有鲶鱼物种清单的产品将包括一个完整的分类，其中包括物种鉴定指南和区域核对清单、更高级别的关系研究和改进的预测性分类、添加到机构收藏的来自采集较差地区的大样本鱼类，以及一个向科学家、教育工作者、政策制定者和公众传播信息的网站(http://clade.acnatsci.org/allcatfish))。该项目还将对许多下一代鱼类分类学家进行教育和专业培训。世界许多地区的淡水生态系统退化严重，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，在世界各地被捕捞以供人类消费、娱乐和宠物贸易。2000年全球淡水和海洋鲶鱼捕获量超过50万公吨。养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，并制定知情的管理政策。了解像鲶鱼一样多样和广泛的群体中的所有物种和更高级别的关系，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.