Collaborative Research: Phylogenetics and Key Innovations in Labroid Fishes

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This research will focus on the evolution and diversity of labroid fishes - including cichlids, labrids (wrasses and parrotfish), pomacentrids (damselfishes) and embiotocids (surfperch). At over 3,000 species, these are among the most successful and diverse groups of bony fishes. Hypotheses will be tested about the effect of major innovations found in the pharyngeal jaws of these fishes on speciation rate, morphological diversity, and ecological diversity. The research has two major components. DNA sequence from 9 genes and 650 species will be obtained to determine the phylogenetic relationships between labroids and other fishes. The resulting phylogenetic trees will be used as the basis for making comparisons of diversity between groups that possess the modified pharyngeal jaw, and close relatives that lack the specialization.The major contribution of this research will be to improve our understanding of how breakthroughs in functional design impact the evolutionary success of lineages. New insights will be gained into evolutionary relationships within one of the least understood branches of the bony-fish tree of life. Training and mentoring will be provided for two post-doctoral researchers and one graduate student. Teaching modules will be developed from this research for undergraduate and graduate courses. An undergraduate internship program will be developed to recruit students from disadvantaged backgrounds into research opportunities provided by this project.