Biodiversity of Hawaiian Rhodophyta: Morphological Vouchers, DNA Archival and Sequence Diversity Assessment

0542608舍伍德和普雷斯廷夏威夷群岛是一个与世隔绝的火山形成的群岛，拥有令人惊叹的物种多样性。夏威夷的红藻也不例外，它们在海洋和淡水栖息地中具有发现以前未知的生物多样性的巨大潜力。夏威夷红藻已经根据形态特征进行了分类，在过去的几十年里已经发现了几十个新物种。本研究抓住了一个独特的机会，将联合收割机分子和形态分类学专门知识与极其广泛的生态和地理覆盖范围结合起来。将从夏威夷主要岛屿和夏威夷西北部岛屿收集来自海洋和淡水栖息地的红藻，并使用三种DNA序列标记（光合生物、细胞核、质体和叶绿体中的每种基因组各一种）和光学显微镜进行评估。这一广泛收集工作的目的是实现所有已知的夏威夷红藻物种的代表性，并发现尽可能多的未描述的物种。主教博物馆历史上存档的其他藏品将补充形态和分子分析。所有标本将作为DNA提取物和完整标本长期保存和存档。这项研究的产品将包括整个标本和关键显微特征的数字照片，DNA提取物和序列数据，以及所有标本的位置信息。所有数据都将通过一个网上项目数据库加以整理和公布。该项目涉及与著名的藻类学家，主教博物馆，NOAA工作人员的科学家和海洋生物普查CReefs项目的广泛合作。夏威夷群岛的生物多样性研究受益于在国家太平洋热带地区进行实地调查和实验室研究的独特机会，该群岛以其非常高的特有性和适应性辐射的惊人例子而闻名。尽管该区域自然多样性很高，但大多数生境都面临着生境丧失、外来物种引进、海岸线开发和气候变化等因素的中度至高度威胁。因此，该项目最关键的方面是制作受威胁生态系统中红藻生物多样性的快照。夏威夷大学的地理环境为太平洋岛屿人民作为研究生和本科生直接参与提供了机会和潜力，该项目将主要由夏威夷大学的学生和博士后研究员执行。通过实地收集、微观分类研究和分子分析，参与的科学家将汇集信息，建立现有的最全面和组织良好的热带藻类数据库。该研究的所有DNA提取物将存档在夏威夷大学的总基因组DNA文库中，该文库将作为分子生物多样性储存库，可在未来任何时候访问，以进行进一步的生物多样性研究或分子系统发育研究。这项研究的成果，即基于网络的项目数据库和DNA档案，对于那些自己可能无法进行全面分类培训的热带太平洋岛屿资源管理人员以及研究藻类群体与热带代表的进化关系的世界各地的藻类学家来说，将是非常宝贵的。

0542608Sherwood and PrestingThe Hawaiian Islands constitute an isolated, volcanically-formed archipelago, that is home to a stunning species diversity. The red algae of Hawaii are no exception, and hold great potential for the discovery of previously unknown biodiversity in both marine and freshwater habitats. Hawaiian red algae have been classified based on morphological characters, and dozens of new species have been discovered over the past decades. A unique opportunity to combine molecular and morphological taxonomic expertise with an exceptionally broad ecological and geographical scope of coverage is being seized in the present study. Red algae from marine and freshwater habitats will be collected from both the main Hawaiian Islands and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and assessed using three DNA sequence markers (one from each genome contained in photosynthetic organisms, nucleus, plastid, and mitochondrion) and by light microscopy. The aim of this broad collecting effort is to achieve representation of all known Hawaiian red algal species, and to discover as many undescribed species as possible. Additional collections that have been historically archived in the Bishop Museum will supplement the morphological and molecular analyses. All collections will be maintained and archived over the long term as both DNA extracts and whole specimens. The products of this research will include digital photographs of whole specimens and key microscopic characters, DNA extracts and sequence data, and location information for all specimens. All data will be organized and made publicly available through a web-based project database. The project involves extensive collaborations with prominent phycologists, the Bishop Museum, NOAA staff scientists and the Census of Marine Life CReefs project.Biodiversity studies in the Hawaiian islands benefit from the unique opportunity to conduct field surveys and laboratory research in the nations Pacific tropical area, an archipelago renowned for its extraordinarily high endemism and stunning examples of adaptive radiation. Despite the naturally high diversity of the region, most habitats face a moderate to strong degree of threat from factors such as habitat loss, alien species introductions, shoreline development and climate change. Thus, the most critical aspect of the project is the production of a snapshot of red algal biodiversity in a threatened ecosystem. The geographic setting of the University of Hawaii presents opportunities and potential for the direct involvement of Pacific island peoples as both graduate and undergraduate students, and the project will be largely executed by students and postdoctoral fellows based at the University of Hawaii. Through field collections, microscopic taxonomic study and molecular analyses, participating scientists will bring together the information for the most comprehensive and well-organized tropical algal database available. All DNA extracts from the study will be archived in a total genomic DNA library at the University of Hawaii, which will act as a molecular biodiversity repository that can be accessed at any future time for further biodiversity studies or molecular phylogenetic research. The products of this study, the web-based project database and DNA archive, will be invaluable to tropical Pacific island resource managers who may not be able to undertake full taxonomic training themselves, as well as phycologists worldwide who study evolutionary relationships of algal groups with tropical representatives.