Collaborative Research: Biogeographic Isolation and Morphological Convergence in Scleractinian Corals, Suborder Faviina

这项由爱荷华大学的Ann Budd教授和加州大学圣地亚哥分校的Nancy Knowlton教授合作研究的目的是阐明造礁珊瑚之间的进化关系。研究计划包括对四个相关科进行详细的重新分析，这些科加起来约占造礁珊瑚主要类群（属）的一半。初步研究表明，目前关于亲属关系的假设以及相应的科和属的定义存在严重缺陷。特别是，三分之一的大西洋珊瑚属于一个以前未被认识的科，与太平洋上许多其他传统上公认的科不同。在一个特别极端的例子中，目前被分配到不同科的大西洋珊瑚实际上比它们在太平洋的近亲更接近。研究人员将使用现代分子和形态学方法来研究这些珊瑚的分类和系统发育关系。线粒体和核基因将被测序，珊瑚骨架将被切片以观察细节（微观结构）。分子和形态特征，然后将使用计算机为基础的方法来分析得出一个家谱。研究结果将在网站和科学文献中公布（包括一份有插图的分类学专著），研究人员还将在每四年举行一次的国际珊瑚礁研讨会上主持一个讲习班。珊瑚礁是所有海洋栖息地中最多样化的，也是最受威胁的。因此，关于如何优先考虑保护工作，有许多建议。其中大多数是基于物种数量，因此，从生物多样性的角度来看，大西洋珊瑚被认为相对微不足道。例如，在最近一篇备受瞩目的论文中，18个确定的生物多样性热点中只有4个在大西洋。然而，科学家和公众早就认识到，进化的独特性也是做出保护决定的一个重要标准；因此，例如，公众对腔棘鱼和其他活化石的兴趣。这项研究将首次为这些造礁珊瑚提供一个现代进化框架，以便在评估保护选择时可以考虑进化独特性和物种数量。这一点尤其重要，因为在过去的三十年里，大西洋珊瑚在其大部分活动范围内减少了80%，这一发现仅限于大西洋珊瑚的主要辐射。

The purpose of this collaborative research by Prof. Ann Budd at University of Iowa and Prof. Nancy Knowlton at University of California, San Diego, is to clarify evolutionary relationships among reef-building corals. The plan for research includes a detailed re-analysis of four related families, which together comprise about one half of the major groups (genera) of reef-building corals. Preliminary research suggests that current assumptions about relationships and corresponding definitions of families and genera are seriously flawed. In particular, one third of all Atlantic corals belong to a previously unrecognized family that is distinct from many other conventionally recognized families in the Pacific. In a particularly extreme example, Atlantic corals currently assigned to different families are in fact more closely related to each other than they are to their supposed close relatives in the Pacific. The investigators will use modern molecular and morphological methods to study taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships of these corals. Mitochondrial and nuclear genes will be sequenced, and coral skeletons will be sectioned in order to observe fine details (microstructure). Molecular and morphological characters will then be analyzed using computer-based methods to derive a family tree. The results will be made available on web sites as well as in the scientific literature (including an illustrated taxonomic monograph), and the investigators will also host a workshop at the International Coral Reef Symposium that is held once every four years. Coral reefs are the most diverse of all marine habitats, and among the most threatened. As such, there have been numerous suggestions for how to prioritize conservation efforts. Most of these are based on species numbers, and for that reason Atlantic corals have been considered relatively trivial from a biodiversity perspective. In a recent high-profile paper, for example, only 4 of 18 identified biodiversity hotspots were in the Atlantic. However, scientists and the public have long recognized that evolutionary distinctiveness is also an important criterion for making conservation decisions; hence, for example, the interest of the public in coelacanths and other living fossils. This research will for the first time provide a modern evolutionary framework for these reef-building corals, so that evolutionary distinctiveness as well as species numbers can be considered when evaluating conservation options. This is particularly important in light of the discovery of a major radiation of corals limited to the Atlantic, since Atlantic corals have declined by 80% across much of their range over the last three decades.