RUI: Patterns of Biodiversity of Benthic Invertebrates in Chihuahuan Desert Springs

RUI：奇瓦瓦沙漠泉底栖无脊椎动物的生物多样性模式

• 批准号: 0717064
• 负责人: David Berg
• 金额: $ 34万
• 依托单位: Miami University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-01 至 2012-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0717064&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Patterns; Biodiversity; Benthic; Invertebrates

Human activities threaten the integrity of desert ecosystems, many of which?like the springs in the northern Chihuahuan Desert of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico?probably contain large numbers of unique species. Unfortunately, little is known about the bottom-dwelling invertebrates of these systems. This project will survey six desert spring systems. Organisms from samples will be identified as known or undescribed. A web-accessible database of species lists with digitized images for each spring will be created. Genetic ?barcoding? using DNA sequencing will allow identification of cryptic species?those that appear identical but which are actually separate species. Geographic patterns in diversity also will be investigated. Because many of these species are likely limited to a single spring system, information generated by this project will be useful to agencies charged with conservation of threatened and endangered species. Researchers also will test the efficacy of genetic barcoding as a method for identifying cryptic species. This project has significant educational merit. Students from Miami University Hamilton (an open-admission, two-year campus) will gain invaluable research experience. The database will be accessible to the public and used in biology courses. Research results will be provided to conservation agencies and published in scientific journals.

人类的活动威胁着沙漠生态系统的完整性，其中许多人像西德克萨斯州北部奇瓦瓦州沙漠和新墨西哥州东南部的泉水一样？可能包含大量独特物种。 不幸的是，这些系统的底部无脊椎动物知之甚少。 该项目将调查六个沙漠春季系统。 来自样品的生物将被确定为已知或未描述的生物。 将创建一个具有数字化图像的物种列表的可访问数据库。 遗传？条形码？使用DNA测序将允许识别隐性物种？那些看起来相同但实际上是分开的物种的物种。 还将研究多样性的地理模式。 由于这些物种中的许多可能仅限于单个弹簧系统，因此该项目产生的信息将对受到威胁和濒危物种的保护的机构有用。 研究人员还将测试遗传条形码作为识别隐性物种的方法的功效。 该项目具有重要的教育优点。 迈阿密大学汉密尔顿大学的学生（开放式，两年的校园）将获得宝贵的研究经验。 该数据库将被公众访问并用于生物学课程。 研究结果将提供给保护机构，并在科学期刊上发表。