Collaborative Research: Biotic Surveys of Central Saharan Oases

这一合作研究项目旨在全面调查利比亚和埃及孤立沙漠绿洲的动物群。 调查将侧重于脊椎动物和寄生虫的多样性，重点研究两栖动物、鱼类、爬行动物、软体动物以及寄生虫和血虫。将利用新的地理信息系统数据和地理参照历史记录，绘制地中海和撒哈拉以南动物群之间的地理关系图。随着包括组织样本在内的新标本的收集，将通过分子系统发育方法来测试长期存在的地理学假设。通过重新访问历史地点，将提供关于最近干旱化导致的动物群组成变化的重要新数据。新的遗传，形态和生态数据的分析也将提供一个窗口避难种群的进化动态，包括适应极端环境。 标本、组织和数据将存放在美国博物馆收藏和数据库中，并将作为北非生物多样性未来工作的重要资源。关于寄生虫（包括寄生蠕虫和毒蛇的新分布数据将对管理人类健康产生直接影响。这些孤立的绿洲受到气候变化的威胁，包括由于水利用的区域变化而减少的地下水位;调查人员？调查将提请注意这些不可替代的生态系统的脆弱性。通过与外国和美国博物馆的合作，来自利比亚和埃及的重要历史标本收藏将得到更新和策划。该项目包括不同的专业和机构，并整合了北非的研究人员和学生在实地工作和由此产生的研究。本科生和研究生将参加实地调查和随后的研究。该项目将提供资源进行分类学修订，进行大规模的生物地理学研究，并将分子遗传学工具应用于非洲生物地理学的长期问题。该项目由美国国家科学基金会国际科学与工程办公室共同资助。

This collaborative research project aims to survey comprehensively the fauna of isolated desert oases in Libya and Egypt. Surveys will focus on vertebrate and parasite diversity, with focal research on amphibians, fishes, reptiles, mollusks, and schistosome and hematozoan parasites. Using new GIS data and geo-referenced historical records, the geographical relationship between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan faunas will be mapped. With a new collection of specimens that includes tissue samples, long-standing biogeographic hypotheses will be tested via molecular phylogenetic methods. By revisiting historical localities, important new data will be provided on changes in faunal composition driven by recent aridification. Analyses of new genetic, morphological, and ecological data will also provide a window into the evolutionary dynamics of refugial populations, including adaptation to extreme environments. Specimens, tissues, and data will be deposited in publicly accessible U.S. museum collections and databases and will serve as an important resource for future work on North African biodiversity. New distributional data on parasites, including schistosome worms, and on venomous snakes will have a direct effect on managing human health. These isolated oases are threatened by climate change, including a water table that is diminishing because of regional changes in water utilization; the investigators? surveys will draw attention to the fragility of these irreplaceable ecosystems. Through collaboration with foreign and U.S. museums, important historical specimen collections from Libya and Egypt will be updated and curated. This project includes diverse specialties and institutions, and integrates North African researchers and students in fieldwork and the resulting research. Undergraduate and graduate students will be included in both field surveys and subsequent research. This project will provide the resources for conducting taxonomic revisions, pursuing broad-scale phylogeographic studies, and applying molecular genetic tools to long-standing problems in African biogeography. This project is co-funded by the National Science Foundation's Office of International Science and Engineering.