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

解决Schefflera：开始重新划定Araliaceae中最大的属Gregory M.Plunkett&amp；Porter P.Lowry IINSF 0613728&amp；0614152人参科近三分之二的物种属于热带属Schefflera(约1,100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，Schefflera不是一个自然类群，而是由五个不相关的谱系组成，集中在世界四个不同的地方。该项目将通过关注其中两个群体，一个以马达加斯加为中心，另一个以新喀里多尼亚为中心，开始解决围绕Schefflera的困惑。研究人员将(1)通过检查标本和进行实地工作来细化物种限制，(2)使用DNA序列来评估进化关系和地理历史，以及(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举世公认的，但进展远远落后于国际目标，分类学家可以通过定义保护的基本单位(物种)、评估威胁和为做出最大限度地保护生物多样性的明智决策提供进化背景来发挥重要作用。这项研究为实现来自两个全球重要生物多样性热点的一组模式物种(Schefflera)的这些目标提供了一种明确的方法，并通过技术和用户友好的渠道将这些结果传递给科学界、相关政府机构和普通公众。该项目还通过让首席研究员、荣休级别的植物学家和学生参与，在三代科学家之间架起了一座桥梁。

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.