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

这项建议将追溯历史和分歧的机制，在物种形成的教科书的例子，蝾螈的Ensatina eschscholtzii复杂的北美西部，以进一步了解新物种是如何形成的。研究人员将测试有关进化过程的假设，这些进化过程在广泛的范围内使用DNA序列数据塑造了地理变异模式，并与高度可变的DNA微卫星相结合，以仔细研究不同种群之间接触区的个体之间的相互作用。控制交配实验将被用来测试假设的起源和维持生殖隔离障碍，以阐明物种如何保持不同的其他，密切相关的物种，他们共同occurrent.Ensatina蝾螈代表一个环物种的只有两个已知的情况之一。环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终端部分的中间形式来追踪分歧的历史。结果将通过在期刊上发表传达给科学界，并通过获奖的理解进化网站直接向公众传播，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.