Examining inter- and Intra-Continental Biogeographic Patterns and Processes in the Old World Using a Diverse Avian Subfamily as a Model System

解开导致现代生物分布的历史模式和事件继续为生物地理学家提供挑战。 在非洲和欧亚大陆尤其如此，我们对导致鸟类物种形成的历史事件的了解主要局限于每个大陆相对较小的部分。 作为一个模型系统，从这些大陆进行地理分析，这项研究将进行一个全面的DNA研究的315个物种之间的系统发育关系，包括亚科Muscicapinae（画眉，聊天和flyccatchers）。 这些研究将允许在洲际和洲际水平上测试鸟类地理学假设，包括评估气候循环和生态梯度在推动物种形成中的潜在作用，广泛地说，这项研究将导致改进鸟类分类，以及更好地了解生物多样性和鸟类保护的起源和维持。 这项研究将进一步导致实证研究，寻求识别和模拟物种和进化谱系的起源，多样化和分布，并确定进化变化的克里思和模式。 这些地理学研究将是第一批建立广泛模式的研究之一，这些模式说明了鸟类生物是如何在这些很少探索的大陆地区聚集的，因此将作为未来研究不同植物和动物群体的模板。

Disentangling historical patterns and events that have resulted in the modern day distributions of living organisms continues to provide a challenge to biogeographers. This is particularly true in Africa and Eurasia, where our knowledge of historical events leading to avian speciation is largely restricted to relatively small portions of each continent. As a model system from which to conduct biogeographic analyses on these continents, this study will perform a sweeping DNA study of phylogenetic relationships among the 315 species comprising the subfamily Muscicapinae (thrushes, chats and flycatchers). These phylogenies will allow tests of biogeographic hypotheses at inter- and intra-continental levels, to include assessing the potential roles of climatic cycling and ecological gradients in driving speciation.Broadly, this research will lead to improved avian taxonomy, as well as a better understanding of the origin and maintenance of biodiversity and avian conservation. This study will further lead to empirical studies seeking to identify and model the origin, diversification, and distribution of species and evolutionary lineages, and to determining the tempo and mode of evolutionary change. The biogeographical studies will be some of the first to establish broad patterns illustrating how avian biotas are assembled in these little explored continental regions and will thus serve as a template for future studies of diverse plant and animal groups.