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

南美洲的安第斯山脉拥有世界上六分之一的人口。美国的植物种类比其他任何生物多样性热点地区都多。新热带钟形花属的600种钟形花，包括centrropogon属、Burmeistera属和Siphocampylus属，只是这一庞大多样性的一小部分。该项目的第一个目标是利用叶绿体和核基因组的DNA序列数据来重建该植物类群的进化史。这种系统发育将被用来理解新热带钟形花的进化及其生态伙伴。首先，将记录蜂鸟和长舌蝙蝠授粉综合征之间的形态进化模式。其次，将从钟形花中收集的花螨所产生的系统发育与植物系统发育进行比较，以测试寄主和寄生虫共同多样化的信号。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实体博物馆藏品的增长。将开发一个网站，提供这些植物的高分辨率数字图像，以及目前已公布的该分支中少数几个群体的密钥。最后，这个项目的结果将以英语和西班牙语在出版物和公众和科学讲座中发表。包括迷人的植物和迷人的脊椎动物、蜂鸟和蝙蝠的授粉，使得这项研究作为教育K-12学生进化论的模型特别有吸引力。

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.