Collaborative Research: A Comprehensive Multigene Phylogeny of Chipmunks (Rodentia: Tamias): Testing Divergence with Gene Flow

确定动物物种形成过程中杂交的频率和影响仍然是进化生物学的核心问题。这个项目将调查杂交和北美西部花栗鼠的进化。花栗鼠代表了一个很好的研究系统，因为它们明显地隔离到不同的栖息地，并导致物种之间的接触区域狭窄。此外，它们的特点是生殖解剖的物种之间的分化，表明生殖隔离。研究人员已经确定了许多在生态学和解剖学上不同的物种之间发生基因流动的例子，这表明杂交在这个群体和其他群体的进化过程中可能很重要。研究人员将使用群体水平的遗传标记来测试对基因流趋异的预测，并将使用各种分子数据集来估计该属的进化。该项目是EPSCoR支持的一所研究型大学与一家大型公共自然历史博物馆之间的合作，从而为向科学界和公众传播信息提供了许多机会。将为学生提供野外生物学、分子生物学、系统发育方法和计算生物学方面的重要培训机会。该项目还包括一项重要的收集工作，因此将有助于以自然历史收藏为代表的生物基础设施。

Determining the frequency and impact of hybridization during animal speciation remains a central issue in evolutionary biology. This project will investigate hybridization and the evolution of chipmunks in western North America. Chipmunks represent an excellent study system due to their obvious segregation into distinct habitats, and resulting narrow zones of contact between species. In addition, they are characterized by differentiation of reproductive anatomy between species, suggesting reproductive isolation. The investigators have identified numerous instances where gene flow occurs between ecologically and anatomically distinct species, suggesting hybridization may be important during the evolution of this and other groups. The investigators will test predictions of divergence with gene flow using population-level genetic markers and will also estimate a phylogeny of the genus using a diverse array of molecular data sets. This project represents a collaboration between an EPSCoR-supported research university and a large public natural history museum, thus providing numerous opportunities for the dissemination of information to the scientific community and the general public. Important training opportunities for students in field biology, molecular biology, phylogenetic methods, and computational biology will be achieved. The project also includes a significant collecting effort and will therefore contribute to biological infrastructure represented by natural history collections.