Molecular Systematics, Biogeography, and Invasion Identity of Neogobiin Fishes

调查的目的是阐明一个显着的地方性的“物种群”的鱼类原产于黑海和里海，已成为一个日益严重的问题，在其入侵北美和欧亚大陆的生态系统的进化历史，物种鉴定和地理多样化模式。许多生态学家认为，这种外来物种的引入对全球本土生态系统构成了最严重的威胁之一。例如，北美五大湖的生态已经被一波又一波的入侵者所重组，这些入侵者是从船只的压舱水中意外引入的，包括里海圆虾虎鱼和它的斑马贻贝猎物。两种虾虎鱼--圆虾虎鱼和管鼻虾虎鱼--在20世纪90年代初入侵，前者迅速蔓延到所有五个五大湖。入侵的套房相关类群越来越多地出现的特点外来社区，这可能会促进彼此。由于运河的建设、航运和栖息地的干扰，其他几种新虎鱼也在欧亚水道中“移动”。其中一些--包括猴子、大头鱼和赛虾虎鱼--预计将入侵北美，可能已经在这里了，但还没有确定。这项研究将开发诊断DNA序列特征和构建分类检索表，以允许正确识别的neogobiins在所有生活史阶段。此外，序列数据将提供阐明外来入侵的来源，识别神秘物种，分析相关物种是否也入侵或可能入侵，并确定新的殖民地是否来自传播或独立引入。结果将是基本使用生态学家，环境管理人员，和国际机构，如水生营养物工作组，允许快速和具有成本效益的分类群的识别，并划定其人口的原产地。

The objectives of the investigation are to elucidate the evolutionary history, species identifications, and biogeographic diversification patterns of a remarkable endemic "species flock" of fishes native to the Black and Caspian Seas that has become a growing problem in its invasions of North American and Eurasian ecosystems. Many ecologists believe that such introductions of exotic species pose one of the most serious threats to native ecosystems worldwide. For example, the ecology of the North American Great Lakes has been restructured by waves of invaders that were accidentally introduced from ships' ballast water, including the Ponto-Caspian round goby and its zebra mussel prey. Two goby species - the round goby and the tubenose goby - invaded in the early 1990's, and the former spread rapidly to all five Great Lakes. Invasions by suites of related taxa increasingly appear to characterize exotic communities, which may facilitate one another. Several other neogobiin species also have been "on the move" in Eurasian waterways due to construction of canals, shipping, and habitat disturbances. Some of these - including the monkey, bighead, and racer gobies - are predicted to invade North America and may already be here, but are not yet identified. This study will develop diagnostic DNA sequence characters and construct taxonomic keys to permit correct identification of the neogobiins at all life history stages. In addition, the sequence data will provide the means to elucidate the sources of exotic invasions, identify cryptic species, analyze whether relatived species also invade or are likely to, and determine whether new colonizations arise from spread or from independent introductions. Results will be of fundamental use to ecologists, environmental managers, and international agencies such as the Aquatic Nuisance Task Force in allowing rapid and cost-effective identification of taxa, and delineating their population area of origin.