DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Biogeography of Sumatra and The Mentawai Islands: Phylogeographic Studies of Southeast Asian Flying Lizards (Agamidae: Draco)

明打威群岛和邻近岛屿位于印度尼西亚苏门答腊岛以西的印度洋。这些岛屿与苏门答腊岛以及亚洲大陆和岛屿的其余部分分离了至少25万年，因此居住着其他地方没有的特有物种。虽然已经深入研究的少数类群表现出高度的特有性，但大多数明打威生物群仍然基本上或完全未被研究。这项研究将调查物种多样性和苏门答腊岛和明打威群岛动物群的岛屿间连接的历史，通过应用系统发育和地理学方法，沿着最近开发的基于合并的人口遗传学方法。本研究的分类学重点是一个壮观的组滑翔蜥蜴（属Draco），是在这个地区的多样性。这项研究是科学意义，因为它将是第一个利用严格的分子分析来回答有关非灵长类动物区系分布在这个高度多样性，但研究不足的生物系统的问题。此外，这项研究的结果将为针对这些生物多样性岛屿的保护工作提供基线数据。与这项研究有关的实地工作将与印度尼西亚大学合作进行，并将为印度尼西亚本科生提供接受实地方法培训的机会。这项研究的分子部分将在加州大学伯克利分校本科生的帮助下进行，为他们提供实验室技能，让他们参与科学研究的过程。

The Mentawai Archipelago and adjacent islands lie in the Indian Ocean west of the Indonesian mega-island of Sumatra. These islands have been separated from Sumatra and the remainder of insular and mainland Asia for at least 250,000 years and are consequently inhabited by an assemblage of endemic species found nowhere else. Although the few taxa that have been studied intensively exhibit a high degree of endemism, most of the Mentawei biota remains largely or completely unstudied. This study will investigate species diversification and the history of inter-island connectivity of Sumatra and the Mentawai Islands fauna by applying phylogenetic and biogeographic methodologies, along with recently developed coalescent-based population genetic approaches. The taxonomic focus of this study is a spectacular group of gliding lizards (genus Draco) that is diverse in this region.This study is scientifically significant because it will be the first to utilize rigorous molecular analyses to answer questions regarding non-primate faunal distributions in this highly diverse, yet understudied biological system. Furthermore, the results from this study will provide baseline data for conservation efforts directed towards these biodiverse islands. The fieldwork associated with this study will be conducted in collaboration with the University of Indonesia, and will provide opportunities for Indonesian undergraduates to receive training in field methodologies. The molecular component of the study will be carried out with the help of undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley, providing them with laboratory skills and engaging them in the process of scientific research.