DISSERTATON RESEARCH: Genetic diversification of mesic treefrogs in a dry Neotropical savanna: Next-Gen sequencing uncovers the roles of environment, paleoclimate, and geography

稀树草原是最多样但研究最少的生态系统之一，由于这些地区很容易转变为农业，因此受到严重威胁。巴西的稀树大草原是地球上最大的草原，保护和管理剩下的稀树大草原上的生物群需要记录导致和维持这种生物多样性的进化和生态因素。树蛙物种是这项研究的优秀模型，因为它们对植被类型、温度和湿度水平高度敏感。因此，气候变化很快就被这些物种的数量减少所揭示。利用大规模描述环境的计算机建模新方法和DNA技术的进步，这项研究将评估青蛙种群的遗传福祉与它们不断变化的环境和它们的生存前景的关系。将收集的不同来源的数据将提供关键的基线信息，以有效地保护和管理这些濒危的栖息地和生物群。这些方法和研究方法将可移植到不同生态区域的其他生物群体。该项目将极大地促进涉及国际合作者的综合性、多学科研究，并将把学生培养成未来的科学家和科学教育者。

Savannas, which are among the most diverse but understudied ecosystems, are severely threatened due to the ease of converting these areas to agriculture. The savannas of Brazil are the largest on Earth, and conservation and management of the biota in the remaining savanna patches requires documenting the evolutionary and ecological factors that gave rise to and maintain this biodiversity. Treefrog species are excellent models for this research because they are highly sensitive to vegetation type, temperature, and humidity levels. Thus, climatic alteration is quickly revealed by declines in populations of these species. Using new methods in computer modeling that describe environments on a large scale, and advances in DNA technology, this research will assess the genetic well being of frog populations in relation to their changing environment and their prospects for survival.The diverse sources of data to be collected will provide baseline information critical to efficiently protect and manage these endangered habitats and biotas. These methods and research approaches will be transferrable to other groups of organisms in different ecological regions. This project will contribute significantly to promoting integrative, multidisciplinary research involving international collaborators, and will train students as future scientists and science educators.