DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics and Evolution of Neotropical Bell-Flowers (Lobelioideae)

南美洲的安第斯山脉是世界六分之一人口的家园？的植物物种，比任何其他生物多样性热点。新热带区的600种钟形花属Centropogon，Burmeistera和Siphocampylus代表了这种压倒性的多样性的一小部分。该项目的第一个目标是利用叶绿体和核基因组的DNA序列数据重建该植物群的进化历史。这一系统发育将被用来了解新热带区钟形花相对于其生态伙伴的演变。首先，蜂鸟和长舌蝙蝠授粉综合征之间的变化所涉及的形态演变模式将被记录。第二，将风铃草花螨的寄生基因与植物寄生基因进行比较，以检测寄主和寄生虫之间共同多样化的信号。该项目将通过拉丁美洲植物学家和机构的参与促进国际合作，该项目还将有助于美国和国外博物馆实物收藏的增长。将开发一个网站，提供植物的高分辨率数字图像和目前公布的少数几个分支内的群体的关键信息。最后，该项目的成果将以英文和西班牙文发表在出版物和公众及科学讲座上。包括有吸引力的植物和有魅力的脊椎动物，蜂鸟和蝙蝠授粉，使这项研究特别有吸引力的模式，教K-12学生进化。

The Andean mountain chains of South American are home to one-sixth of the world?s plant species, more than any other biodiversity hotspot. The 600 species of Neotropical bell-flower in the genera Centropogon, Burmeistera, and Siphocampylus represent a small fraction of this overwhelming diversity. The first goal of this project is to use DNA sequence data from both the chloroplast and nuclear genomes to reconstruct the evolutionary history of this plant group. This phylogeny will then be used to understand the evolution of Neotropical bell-flowers with respect to their ecological associates. First, patterns of morphological evolution involved in shifts between hummingbird and long-tongue bat pollination syndromes will be documented. Second, a phylogeny generated for flower mites collected from bell-flowers will be compared to the plant phylogeny to test for signals of co-diversification between host and parasite.This project will facilitate international collaboration via the participation of Latin American botanists and institutions.This project will also aid in the growth of physical museum collections, both in the US and abroad. A website that will make high-resolution digital images of the plants and the few currently published keys of groups within the clade readily available will be developed. Finally, the results of this project will be presented in publications and public and scientific talks in both English and Spanish. The inclusion of attractive plants and pollination by charismatic vertebrates, hummingbirds and bats, makes this research particularly attractive as model to teach K-12 students about evolution.