AToL: Collaborative Research: Amphibia Tree--An Integrated Phylogenetic and Phyloinformatics Approach to the Tree of Amphibians

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A grant has been awarded to Dr. Linda Trueb and Rafe Brown at the University of Kansas to study phylogenetic relationships of the living amphibians and their close fossil relatives. Modern Amphibians are a prominent part of the Earth's vertebrate fauna and include three orders: the caecilians (Gymnophiona), salamanders (Caudata), and frogs and toads (Anura). Despite recent advances in discovering and describing their diversity, many critical questions in amphibian evolution remain unresolved and a fresh analysis of evolutionary relationships is needed to take new discoveries into account. Furthermore, the recent decline and apparent extinction of amphibians from many environments makes it urgent that we discover and classify the diversity present today. A team of seven investigators from diverse institutions (University of Texas, University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University, and the University of Kansas) will collaborate to resolve modern amphibian relationships. Anatomical data from living and fossil forms will be combined with DNA sequences from a set of defined mitochondrial and nuclear genes for as many species as possible, and will be integrated with existing data sets. Analysis of these large data sets will be used to gain insight into such questions as repeated patterns of evolution, geographic patterns, and rates of evolution. Dr. Trueb will oversee morphological studies of fossil and Recent frogs and toads, and Dr. Brown will conduct research on anurans of Southeastern Asia. Understanding the evolutionary history of modern amphibians is critical for developing conservation strategies for amphibians as well a completing the vertebrate portion of the tree of life. The project will involve extensive student training and interaction with US and international colleagues. Communication with the public will use web resources, especially AmphibiaWeb, an existing site that will be expanded and further developed to provide information on all species of amphibians for professionals and the public at large. AmphibiaWeb will also provide training opportunities for students and senior professionals to enable them to more effectively communicate their findings.