Using molecular data to test connectivity and the circumpolar paradigm for Antarctic marine invertebrates

西南极半岛正在迅速变暖，热状况的持续变化可能会对海洋动物造成严重后果，包括适应性强的狭温动物的潜在灭绝，以及邻近动物群的入侵。气候变化的初始影响可能导致同一物种种群之间的连通性发生变化。这些变化可能无法通过直接观察检测到，但可以通过遗传连接性进行评估，即群体之间等位基因或单倍型频率的差异可以用来推断基因流的水平。 拟议中的研究将探讨斯科舍弧在连接南美洲和南极洲的人口方面所起的作用，这条走廊被认为是入侵者进入南极洲的可能途径。它还将研究神秘物种可能混淆我们对大规模分布的知识的方式，并在这样做的过程中，为理解生物多样性和测试南极洲的环极范例做出贡献。首席研究员将从多个地点收集来自一系列底栖海洋无脊椎动物门的“物种”的多位点遗传数据，以解决有关物种形成和连通性的假设，估计人口变化，并确定驱动观察到的地理模式的潜在过程。比较生态地理学是一种特别有价值的方法，因为它能够识别物种群体共同的长期障碍和避难所，因此与保护规划高度相关。此外，这项工作将为检测未来连通性的变化提供有价值的基线。 研究结果将通过同行审查的出版物和在会议上的介绍加以传播。此外，该项目将支持对一名女研究生、两名本科生进行跨学科培训，并通过SIO的STARS方案接待更多的暑期学生，该方案帮助少数民族学生为研究生院做准备。该项目将通过举办一个跨学科研讨会，将地球科学和生物学高中教师聚集在一起，将研究和教育结合起来。这个研讨会旨在帮助教师获得自己的课程，统一板块构造，海洋历史和演化，支持一个新的高中地球科学计划。该项目产生的信息还将直接用于设计一系列南极海洋保护区的国际努力。

The west Antarctic Peninsula is warming rapidly, and continuing changes in the thermal regime will likely result in severe consequences for marine fauna, including potential extinction of strongly adapted stenotherms, and invasions from neighboring faunas. Initial impacts of climate change may result in changes in connectivity among populations of the same species. These changes may will be undetectable by direct observation, but may be assessed via genetic connectivity, i.e. differences in allele or haplotype frequencies among populations can be used to infer levels of gene flow. The proposed research will explore the role that the Scotia Arc plays in connecting populations from South America to Antarctica, a corridor identified as a likely entry route for invaders into Antarctica. It also will examine the way in which cryptic species may confound our knowledge of broad-scale distributions, and in doing so, make contributions towards understanding biodiversity and testing the paradigm of circumpolarity in Antarctica. The principal investigator will to collect multi-locus genetic data across 'species' from a broad suite of benthic marine invertebrate phyla, from multiple locations, in order to address hypotheses regarding speciation and connectivity, to estimate demographic population changes, and to identify the underlying processes that drive observed phylogeographic patterns. Comparative phylogeography is a particularly valuable approach because it enables the identification of long-term barriers and refugia common to groups of species and is consequently highly relevant to conservation planning. Moreover, this work will form a valuable baseline for detecting future changes in connectivity. The results of the research will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences. In addition, the project will support the interdisciplinary training of a female graduate student, two undergraduate students, and host additional summer students through the STARS program at SIO, which helps minority students prepare for graduate school. This project will integrate research and education through conducting an interdisciplinary workshop that brings together Earth Science and Biology high school teachers. This workshop aims to assist teachers derive their own curricula uniting plate tectonics, ocean history and evolution, supporting a new high school earth sciences program. Information generated by this project will also directly feed into international efforts to design a series of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Antarctica.