DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics, biogeography and diversification of the pantropical angiosperm family Simaroubaceae (Sapindales)

泛热带被子植物西马鲁巴科(Sapindales)的分类、生物地理学和多样性本项目的目标是重建西马鲁巴科内部的关系，这是一个热带和温带乔木和灌木的小科，人们对它知之甚少。为了实现这一目标，将使用来自五个基因区域的DNA序列数据和适当的分析计算机软件。由此产生的系统发育(关系史)将与家族成员的形态特征、水果和树叶的化石、当前的地理分布以及过去的气候和构造活动结合起来，以阐明过去6500万年来西马鲁巴科的历史迁移和多样性。分析将发现物种形成率的变化，并将这些变化与关键形态创新和跨洲迁移的演变相关联。该项目将有助于有关许多热带植物科漫长而复杂的历史的不断增长的知识体系，并进一步阐明全球热带生物群的多样性。西马鲁巴科的系统发育有可能通过突出其遗传独特性，为该科中一些稀有成员出现的地区的保护政策提供信息。形态和分子数据还将包括在库比茨基的《维管束植物的科和属》以及生命之树网络项目(www.tolweb.org)上的西马鲁巴科摘要中。

Systematics, biogeography and diversification of the pantropical angiosperm family Simaroubaceae (Sapindales)The goal of this project is to reconstruct relationships within Simaroubaceae, a small, poorly understood family of tropical and temperate trees and shrubs. To accomplish this goal DNA sequence data from five gene regions, and appropriate analytical computer software will be used. The resulting phylogeny (history of relationships) will be used in conjunction with morphological characteristics of family members, fossils of fruits and leaves, current geographical distributions, and past climate and tectonic activity, to elucidate historical migrations and diversification of the Simaroubaceae during the past 65 million years. Analyses will detect shifts in speciation rates, and correlate these with the evolution of key morphological innovations and cross-continental migrations.This project will contribute to a growing body of knowledge concerning the long and complex histories of many tropical plant families, and further clarify the diversification of the tropical biota on a global basis. The phylogeny of the Simaroubaceae has the potential to inform conservation policy for regions in which some of the rarer members of the family occur, by highlighting their genetic uniqueness. Morphological and molecular data will also be incorporated into a summary of Simaroubaceae to appear in Kubitzki's 'Families and Genera of Vascular Plants', and a page on the Tree of Life web project (www.tolweb.org).