Research Starter Grant: Comparative Phylogeography of Amphibians Across the Southern Appalachians and Gulf Coastal Plain

研究启动资助：南阿巴拉契亚山脉和墨西哥湾沿岸平原两栖动物的比较系统发育地理学

• 批准号: 0414033
• 负责人: Leslie Rissler
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
• 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: 2004-09-15 至 2006-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0414033&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Starter; Grant; Comparative; Phylogeography

Understanding the forces responsible for generating genetic and ecological diversity across a biogeographic region is critical to understanding the origin and distribution of species. One approach is to use comparisons of evolutionary history to determine patterns of biodiversity and infer the processes governing these distributions. An understanding of the spatial pattern of genetic diversity is critical for evaluating the affect of geography, ecology, and history in determining spatial distributions of organisms.The proposed research focuses on multiple, co-distributed amphibian species in the southern Appalachians and Gulf Coastal Plain. The investigator takes a molecular phylogenetic and population genetic approach in combination with spatially explicit ecological analyses in a geographic information systems (GIS) framework to address questions in biogeography. This approach is both novel and rigorous, and uses techniques developed during the investigator's postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California at Berkeley. This approach will improve knowledge of geographic distributions and phylogenetic relationships among populations of amphibians in the southeastern United States and lead to a better understanding of regional biogeography and biodiversity. In addition, the research is important for conservation because phylogeographic analyses often reveal the existence of hidden lineages; this is especially true for amphibians. The proposed research is unique in focusing on multiple species of amphibians that span the southern Appalachians and Gulf Coastal Plain bioregions. The work has broad significance in terms of understanding the relative impact of glacial refugia, dispersal ability, and climate on the distribution of genetic variation within and among amphibian species of the southeastern United States.The proposed research provides numerous opportunities for the career development of undergraduate students and graduate students. Students can assist the investigator during field collections, museum preparations, DNA sequencing, and GIS analyses. The research will strengthen relations between the departments of biological sciences and geography at the University of Alabama. Collaborations will likely result with state and federal employees in national forests and parks.

了解在生物地理区域产生遗传和生态多样性的力量对于理解物种的起源和分布至关重要。一种方法是利用进化史的比较来确定生物多样性的模式，并推断控制这些分布的过程。了解遗传多样性的空间格局对于评估地理、生态和历史对确定生物空间分布的影响至关重要。该研究主要集中在南部阿巴拉契亚山脉和墨西哥湾沿岸平原的多种共同分布的两栖动物物种。研究者采用分子系统发育和种群遗传方法，结合地理信息系统（GIS）框架中的空间明确生态分析来解决生物地理学中的问题。这种方法既新颖又严谨，并且使用了研究者在加州大学伯克利分校博士后研究期间开发的技术。这种方法将提高对美国东南部两栖动物种群的地理分布和系统发育关系的认识，并有助于更好地理解区域生物地理学和生物多样性。此外，该研究对保护具有重要意义，因为系统地理学分析经常揭示隐藏谱系的存在；对于两栖动物来说尤其如此。这项研究的独特之处在于，它关注的是横跨阿巴拉契亚山脉南部和墨西哥湾沿岸平原生物区的多种两栖动物。这项工作对于理解冰川避难所、扩散能力和气候对美国东南部两栖动物物种内部和物种之间遗传变异分布的相对影响具有广泛的意义。提出的研究为本科生和研究生的职业发展提供了许多机会。学生可以协助研究者进行实地收集、博物馆准备、DNA测序和地理信息系统分析。这项研究将加强阿拉巴马大学生物科学系和地理系之间的关系。国家森林和公园的州和联邦雇员可能会进行合作。