DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Comparative phylogeography of neotropical trees

气候和地质变化可影响物种和遗传多样性，这种对环境变化的反应的性质对森林结构和适应潜力有影响，对养护措施也很重要。在中美洲，巴拿马大陆桥隆起期间的重大地质变化和冰河时代的气候波动可能导致人口灭绝和重新定居。这类事件可以通过检查当前种群之间的遗传关系来重建。将使用DNA测序和指纹技术来检查中美洲三个树种种群的遗传模式，并确定过去的地质和气候变化是否对树木有共同和重大的影响？多样性和进化史。这项研究将揭示过去气候和地质变化对中美洲森林物种的影响。了解物种？对过去气候变化的反应能够预测对未来气候变化的反应，这在这个生物多样性和高度开发的区域尤为关键。从这个项目中获得的信息可以用来改进保护策略，并有可能改善栖息地的恶化。

Climatic and geological change can affect both species and genetic diversity, and the nature of such responses to environmental change has implications for forest structure and adaptive potential and is of importance to conservation measures. In Central America, major geological changes during the uplift of the Panama land-bridge and climate fluctuations during the ice ages may have caused extinctions and re-colonizations of populations. Such events can be reconstructed by examining genetic relationships among current populations. DNA sequencing and fingerprinting techniques will be used to examine genetic patterns of populations of three Central American tree species and determine whether past geological and climatic change had common and significant influences on the trees? diversity and evolutionary history. This study will reveal the impact of past climatic and geological change on Central American forest species. Understanding species? responses to past climate change enables prediction of responses to future climate change, which is particularly critical in this biodiverse and heavily exploited region. The information derived from this project can be used to improve conservation strategies and potentially ameliorate habitat deterioration.