Collaborative Research: Phylogeography, Ecology and Reproductive Isolation in the Fundulus Notatus Complex

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One of the greatest challenges in biology is to explain the levels and patterns of speciesdiversity. Hybrid zones, where closely related species co-occur and hybridize, providean ideal setting in which to study the processes that generate and maintain speciesdiversity. This research will combine field observations, controlled laboratoryexperiments and modern molecular tools to address fundamental questions regardingthe distributional patterns observed among three topminnow species in the Fundulusnotatus species complex. Throughout the Midwestern and Southern United States, thespecies encounter one another in numerous hybrid zones, making them an ideal groupfor study.The proposed research will comprehensively address the evolutionary history of the F.notatus species group and will increase our understanding of the role evolutionary andecological processes play in producing and maintaining the species diversity weobserve today. Moreover, this research has important conservation implications and willbe of interest to various state agencies. The research program will integrate teachingand research by involving undergraduate and graduate students in the researchenterprise at the two diverse universities. Personnel active in the research willparticipate in existing outreach programs aimed at recruiting underrepresented groupsinto the sciences and improving science literacy in pre-collegiate students.