CAREER: An Integrative Approach to Understanding and Communicating Evolution in Action

新物种形成的速度有多快，自然界的进化有多可预测？这个项目将在一个理想的环境中解决这些问题，以研究实际的进化。在新墨西哥州白沙的石膏沙丘上，多种蜥蜴进化出了白色的伪装颜色。这些物种正在以极快的速度经历物种形成的过程。该项目将阐明加速白沙蜥蜴物种形成过程的因素。自然界的实地研究和实验室的遗传学研究将用于理解自然选择如何如此迅速地导致适应和物种形成。白沙的白蜥蜴提供了一个引人注目的、平易近人的进化例子，并为研究和公众宣传提供了巨大的机会。从教育的角度来看，这笔拨款将提高科学素养，为公众揭开进化论概念的神秘面纱。这项研究将与教育推广活动相结合，利用白沙的壮观景观向公众教授进化生物学。外展活动包括为小学生提供一个简短的“蜥蜴营”，发展一个英西双语的关于进化论的博物馆展览，并在教科书、杂志和大众媒体上传播研究成果。

How quickly can new species form, and how predictable is evolution in nature? This project will address these questions in an ideal setting to study evolution in action. Multiple lizard species have evolved white coloration for camouflage in the gypsum dunes of White Sands, New Mexico. These species are undergoing the process of speciation on an extraordinarily rapid timescale. This project will illuminate the factors that accelerate the process of speciation in White Sands lizards. Field studies in nature and genetics studies in the lab will be used to understand how natural selection can lead so quickly to adaptation and speciation. The white lizards at White Sands provide a compelling, accessible example of evolution and represent a tremendous opportunity for research and public outreach. From an educational perspective this grant will increase scientific literacy and demystify evolutionary concepts for the public. The research will be integrated with educational outreach activities that use the dramatic landscape of White Sands to teach evolutionary biology to the general public. Outreach activities include offering a short "lizard camp" for elementary school children, developing a bilingual English-Spanish museum exhibit about evolution, and disseminating research results in textbooks, magazines and in the popular press.