REVSYS: Monographic Revision and Phylogeny of the Fern Genus Megalastrum (Dryopteridaceae)

该项目是一项为期两年的合作研究，研究对象是蕨类植物Megalastrum，该植物在全球约有60种。该项目有两个目标：第一，对属进行分类处理，以确定物种是什么以及它们发生在哪里，这也将提供一种方法来识别物种并提供有关它们的基本信息。其次，该项目将生成一棵显示物种之间关系的进化树。这棵树将作为一个框架来提出和回答关于生物地理学和物种进化的有趣问题。该项目的科学重要性和更广泛的意义有几个。从根本上说，它将导致对巨星的分类和进化的更好理解，包括可能发现科学上的新物种。该项目将研究导致美洲热带地区蕨类植物多样化的因素，那里是蕨类植物最多样化的地区。该项目将培训一名全职博士后和一名女研究生，以及一名巴西合作者，后者将花一个月的时间与该博士后一起学习DNA分析技术。所有结果都将公布在项目网站上，该网站将由PI的总部机构纽约植物园维护。

This project is a two-year collaborative study of the fern genus Megalastrum, which comprises about 60 species worldwide. The project has two goals: first, to produce a taxonomic treatment of the genus that will determine what the species are and where they occur, and that will also provide a means to identify the species and give basic information about them. Second, the project will produce an evolutionary tree showing the relationships between species. The tree will serve as a framework to pose and answer interesting questions about biogeography and character evolution in the genus. The project's scientific importance and broader significance are several. Fundamentally, it will result in an improved understanding of the taxonomy and evolution of Megalastrum, including the likely discovery of species new to science. The project will examine factors responsible for fern diversification in general in tropical America where the genus is most diverse. A full-time post-doc and female graduate student will be trained on this project, as well as a Brazilian collaborator who will spend one month with the post-doc learning the techniques of DNA analysis. All results will be posted on a project website that will be maintained at the PI's home institution, The New York Botanical Garden.