An Integrative Approach to Understanding Speciation in Salamanders of the Ensatina Eschscholtzii Complex

这项提议将追溯物种形成的教科书例子--北美西部Ensat ina eschcitzii复合体的火蜥蜴--的分化历史和机制，以进一步了解新物种是如何形成的。研究人员将使用大范围的DNA序列数据，结合高度可变的DNA微卫星，测试有关进化过程的假说，这些假说形成了地理变异的模式，以仔细审查不同种群之间接触区的个体之间的相互作用。受控交配实验将被用来检验关于生殖隔离屏障的起源和维持的假说，以阐明物种如何与它们共存的其他密切相关的物种保持不同。环状物种被称为物种形成的完美例证，因为我们可以通过连接作为不同物种的种群连续体的两个末端部分的中间形式来追溯物种分化的历史。结果将通过在期刊上发表的方式传达给科学界，并通过获奖的理解进化网站直接向公众传达，该网站由加州大学伯克利分校开发和维护，为教师和学生提供进化教育资源。

This proposal will trace the history and mechanisms of divergence in a textbook example of speciation, salamanders of the Ensatina eschscholtzii complex of western North America, to further understanding of how new species are formed. The investigators will test hypotheses about the evolutionary processes that have shaped patterns of geographic variation using DNA sequence data at a broad scale, in concert with highly variable DNA microsatellites to scrutinize interactions between individuals at contact zones between differentiated populations. Controlled mating experiments will be used to test hypotheses about the origin and maintenance of reproductive isolating barriers to elucidate how species remain distinct from other, closely related species where they cooccur.Ensatina salamanders represent one of only two known cases of a ring species. Ring species have been called the perfect demonstration of speciation because we can trace the history of divergence through the intermediate forms connecting the two terminal parts of a continuum of populations that act as distinct species. Results will be communicated to the scientific community via publication in journals, and directly to the public via the award winning Understanding Evolution website, developed and maintained by UC Berkeley which provides evolution education resources to teachers and students.