Integrating Phylogeny and Ecology to Study Diversity Patterns of Andean Hummingbirds

广泛的地理多样性模式已被许多物种群体充分记录下来，但创造这些模式的机制尚未得到很好的理解。这个项目通过研究安第斯山脉高度多样化的蜂鸟群来解决为什么一些地区支持异常多的物种这一具有挑战性的问题。将收集组成当地蜂鸟群落的物种的地理范围、形态、生态和进化关系等信息。然后，这些数据将在栖息地和气候梯度的背景下进行分析，将研究多样性空间变化的传统方法与对物种进化史的理解联系起来。本研究将扩展现有的理论和方法，用于评估物种组成和遗传亲缘关系如何在环境梯度中变化，增强对产生和维持多样性的因素的理解。该项目的更广泛影响包括对培训下一代科学家、开发研究生物多样性的工具以及加强国际研究合作和能力的贡献。研究生和本科生实习生将接受蜂鸟研究和使用计算机模型研究多样性模式的培训。新的理论和方法将适用于其他生态系统，其中促进高物种多样性的机制尚未得到很好的理解。最后，教育活动的目的是为安第斯地区的研究人员提供研究和管理生物多样性的工具。该奖项部分由国际科学与工程办公室资助。

Broad geographic patterns of diversity are well documented for many groups of species, but the mechanisms that create those patterns are not well understood. This project addresses the challenging question of why some regions support unusually high numbers of species by studying a highly diverse group of Andean hummingbirds. Information on geographic range, morphology, ecology, and evolutionary relatedness will be gathered for species that comprise local hummingbird communities. These data will then be analyzed in the context of gradients in habitat and climate, linking traditional approaches to studying spatial variation in diversity with an understanding of the species' evolutionary history. This research will extend existing theory and methods used to evaluate how the composition and genetic relatedness of species change across environmental gradients, enhancing understanding of factors that generate and maintain diversity. Broader impacts of this project include contributions to training the next generation of scientists, development of tools for studying biological diversity, and enhancing international research collaboration and capabilities. Graduate students and undergraduate interns will be trained in the study of hummingbirds and the use of computer models to study patterns of diversity. New theory and methods will have application to other ecosystems in which mechanisms that contribute to high species diversity are not well understood. Finally, educational activities are aimed at providing researchers in Andean regions with tools to study and manage biodiversity.This award is funded in part by the Office of International Science and Engineering.