COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: REVSYS: Tackling Schefflera: Initiating the Re-circumscription of the Largest Genus in Araliaceae

攻克舍弗勒拉：开始重新界定五重子科最大属格雷戈里M.普朗克特& Porter P. Lowry五重子科人参科近三分之二的物种属于热带舍弗勒拉属（约1100种，其中500种尚未正式命名）。然而，研究人员对五加科的研究表明，舍弗勒不是一个天然的类群，而是由五个不相关的谱系组成，集中在世界上四个不同的地方。这个项目将通过关注其中两个群体，一个集中在马达加斯加，另一个集中在新喀里多尼亚，来解开围绕舍弗勒拉的困惑。研究人员将(1)通过检查标本和实地工作来完善物种限制，(2)利用DNA序列评估进化关系和地理历史，(3)评估最稀有和最受威胁物种的保护重要性。保护生物多样性的必要性是公认的，但进展远远落后于国际目标，分类学家在定义保护的基本单位（物种）、评估威胁以及为做出明智的决定提供进化背景方面发挥着重要作用，以最大限度地保护生物多样性。本研究为两个全球重要的生物多样性热点地区的一组模式物种（舍弗勒拉）提供了实现这些目标的明确方法，并通过技术和用户友好的渠道将这些结果传递给科学界、相关政府机构和公众。该项目还将主要研究员和名誉植物学家、学生们联系起来，成为三代科学家之间的桥梁。

Tackling Schefflera: Initiating the Re-circumscription of the Largest Genus in AraliaceaeGregory M. Plunkett & Porter P. Lowry IINSF 0613728 & 0614152Near two-thirds of the species in the ginseng family, Araliaceae, belong to the tropical genus Schefflera (about 1100 species, including 500 that have not been formally named). However, the investigators' research on Araliaceae has demonstrated that Schefflera is not a natural group, comprising instead five unrelated lineages concentrated in four different parts of the world. This project will begin to untangle the confusion surrounding Schefflera by focusing on two of these groups, one centered in Madagascar and another in New Caledonia. The investigators will (1) refine species limits by examining specimens and conducting field work, (2) evaluate evolutionary relationships and geographic history using DNA sequences, and (3) assess the conservation importance of the rarest and most threatened species.The need to preserve biodiversity is universally recognized, but progress lags far behind international goals, and taxonomists have a major role to play by defining the basic unit of conservation (species), assessing threats, and providing an evolutionary context for making informed decisions that maximize biodiversity conservation. This study provides an explicit approach for meeting these goals for a set of model species (Schefflera) from two globally-important biodiversity hotspots, and delivering these results to the scientific community, relevant governmental agencies, and the general public through both technical and user-friendly outlets. The project also serves as a bridge between three generations of scientists by involving the principle investigators, an emeritus-level botanist, and students.