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

这一提议将追踪物种形成的历史和机制——北美西部Ensatina eschscholtzii复合体的蝾螈——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，检验关于形成地理变异模式的进化过程的假设，以仔细检查不同种群之间接触区个体之间的相互作用。控制交配实验将用于测试关于生殖隔离屏障的起源和维持的假设，以阐明物种如何与其他密切相关的物种在交配时保持不同。恩萨蒂纳蝾螈是已知的两个环状物种之一。环状物种被称为物种形成的完美证明，因为我们可以通过连接作为不同物种的连续种群的两个末端部分的中间形式来追溯分化的历史。研究结果将通过发表在期刊上的方式传达给科学界，并通过获奖的“理解进化”网站直接传达给公众，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.