Dissertation Research: A Phylogenetic Perspective on Community Ecology and Ecological Diversification in Emydid Turtles.

论文研究：Emydid 海龟群落生态学和生态多样化的系统发育视角。

• 批准号: 0412793
• 负责人: John Wiens
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Stony Brook
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-07-01 至 2006-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0412793&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Phylogenetic; Perspective; Community

Non-technical abstract for DEB-0412793This research investigates fundamental ecological and evolutionary questions using turtles in the family Emydidae as the study system. This family includes many familiar North American species such as the eastern box turtle, the red eared slider, and the painted turtle. Emydids are amazingly ecologically varied. Species in this family are adapted for a wide variety of habitats such as ponds, rivers, and prairies, and subsist on resources as varied as clams, insects, and aquatic plants. Because emydids are so ecologically diverse, they are an ideal group in which to ask questions about the evolution of the ecological characteristics of species and the origins of ecological patterns in natural communities. All such research questions depend on an accurate knowledge of the evolutionary relationships of modern emydid species. We will compare DNA sequences from the nuclear and mitochondrial genes of modern emydid species to examine relationships among these species. This knowledge will allow us to address question with broad implications for the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. For example, is the amount of time that emydids have occurred in different continental regions correlated with the number of emydid species that occur in each region? Presumably in a region that the family has occupied for a long period of time, there will have been time for more species to evolve. Differences in the number of species that occur in different regions often are thought to be related to the amount of time that various groups have lived in each region, yet few studies have ever tested this hypothesis. Another research question is to examine the evolution of tradeoffs in performance capacity (e.g., speed, endurance, swimming ability) of species adapted to different habitats (e.g., species adapted to aquatic versus terrestrial habitats). Many influential theories assume that tradeoffs in performance must occur in organisms that use different habitats or use different resources, but very few studies have ever tried to measure such tradeoffs or detail how they evolved. In addition to addressing questions with broad implications in ecology and evolutionary biology, this project will provide many opportunities for undergraduates and advanced high-school students to learn about science and scientific techniques by assisting in the research. Students will learn how to use video editing and image analysis software (which is used in a variety of fields from medicine to the arts), how to isolate and amplify DNA from specific regions of genes (techniques used in medicine, forensics, and nearly every field of biology), and will be encouraged to design and execute independent research projects (learning firsthand about the process of formulating and testing a scientific hypothesis).

DEB-0412793的非技术摘要本研究以龟科的龟为研究系统，探讨基本的生态学和进化问题。这个家庭包括许多熟悉的北美物种，如东部箱龟，红耳滑龟和彩绘龟。 在生态学上，有着惊人的多样性。 这个科的物种适应于各种各样的栖息地，如池塘，河流和草原，并以蛤，昆虫和水生植物等各种资源为生。 由于emydids是如此生态多样性，他们是一个理想的群体，在其中询问有关物种的生态特征的进化和自然群落的生态模式的起源问题。 所有这些研究问题都依赖于对现代emydid物种进化关系的准确认识。 我们将比较现代emydid物种的核和线粒体基因的DNA序列，以研究这些物种之间的关系。 这些知识将使我们能够解决对生态学和进化生物学领域具有广泛影响的问题。 例如，emydids在不同大陆地区出现的时间与每个地区出现的emydid物种数量相关吗？据推测，在一个家庭已经占据了很长一段时间的地区，将有更多的物种进化的时间。 不同地区物种数量的差异通常被认为与不同群体在每个地区生活的时间有关，但很少有研究验证过这一假设。 另一个研究问题是检查性能容量权衡的演变（例如，速度，耐力，游泳能力）的物种适应不同的栖息地（例如，适应水生与陆生栖息地的物种）。 许多有影响力的理论认为，在使用不同栖息地或使用不同资源的生物体中，性能必须发生权衡，但很少有研究试图衡量这种权衡或详细说明它们是如何进化的。 除了解决生态学和进化生物学中具有广泛影响的问题外，该项目还将为本科生和高中生提供许多机会，通过协助研究来学习科学和科学技术。 学生将学习如何使用视频编辑和图像分析软件（它被用于从医学到艺术的各种领域），如何从基因的特定区域分离和扩增DNA（用于医学、法医学和几乎所有生物学领域的技术），并将被鼓励设计和执行独立的研究项目（学习第一手资料的过程中制定和测试的科学假设）。