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

最近发现了几个传统上根据形态定义的物种，每个物种由两个或更多遗传上不同的群体组成。这些发现提出了一些基本问题，即当一种动物的形态被用来定义其生态位时，“神秘的”物种如何共存。理论预测，任何两个物种都不应该在相同的时间和地点占据相同的生态位。在这项研究中，托马斯·昆兹博士和苏珊·默里博士将通过比较马来西亚半岛形态模糊的蝙蝠物种(双色叶鼻蝙蝠)的形态、摄食生态、栖息地和种群遗传结构，来研究允许共存的分离。这项研究将帮助我们理解导致共存物种形态相似的生态和进化过程，以及为什么一些动物组合比其他动物组合物种更丰富。对神秘物种的认识也可能影响对生物多样性的估计以及如何确定保护的优先事项。这项研究的更广泛影响包括为Murray提供新的培训机会，与马来西亚、印度尼西亚和英国的研究人员建立新的合作关系，以及为马来西亚本科生提供研究机会。就蝙蝠的生态重要性以及如何保护脆弱的洞穴生态系统对土著和当地人民进行教育和培训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.