DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Testing Limits of Coexistence in Paleotropical Cryptic Bat Species

一些传统上根据形态学定义的物种最近被发现由两个或多个遗传上不同的群体组成。这些发现提出了一个基本问题，即当一种动物的形态被用来定义其生态位时，“神秘”物种是如何共存的。理论预测，没有两个物种应该在同一时间和地点占据同一生态位。在这项研究中，托马斯昆兹博士和苏珊默里将调查分离，允许共存，通过比较形态，喂养生态，栖息地，和人口的遗传结构之间的形态神秘的蝙蝠物种（双色叶鼻蝙蝠）在马来西亚半岛。这项研究将帮助我们理解导致共存物种相似形态的生态和进化过程，以及为什么一些动物组合比其他动物组合更丰富。对神秘物种的识别也可能影响生物多样性的估计以及如何确定保护优先事项。这项研究的更广泛影响包括为默里提供新的培训机会，与马来西亚，印度尼西亚和英国研究人员建立新的合作关系，并为马来西亚本科生提供研究机会。教育和培训土著和当地人民了解蝙蝠的生态重要性以及如何保护脆弱的洞穴生态系统将是该项目的重要组成部分。

Several species that have been traditionally defined on the basis of morphology recently have been discovered to consist of two or more genetically distinct groups each. These findings raise fundamental questions about how "cryptic" species coexist when an animal's morphology is used to define its ecological niche. Theory predicts that no two species should occupy the same niche at the same time and place. In this study Dr. Thomas Kunz and Susan Murray will investigate the separation that allows coexistence, by comparing morphology, feeding ecology, roosting habitats, and population genetic structure between morphologically cryptic bat species (bicolored leaf-nosed bats) in peninsular Malaysia. The research will help us understand ecological and evolutionary processes that lead to similar morphologies of coexisting species, and why some animal assemblages are more species-rich than others. Recognition of cryptic species may also affect estimates of biodiversity and how conservation priorities are determined.The broader impacts of this research include new training opportunities for Murray, establishment of new collaborations with Malaysian, Indonesian, and British researchers, and providing research opportunities for Malaysian undergraduates. Educating and training indigenous and local peoples on the ecological importance of bats and how to protect delicate cave ecosystems will be an important part of this project.