Collaborative Research: Ant Diversity of the MesoAmerican Corridor (ADMAC)

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As the land bridge between the North and South America emerged, the fauna of the region had opportunities to diversify into novel ecological niches. The ants of the Mesoamerican corridor were particularly successful in rapidly diversifying over these new mountain ranges and plant communities. This project will develop a detailed biodiversity map for this ecologically dominant group of insects in a biogeographically important region of the world. The investigators will build on previous ant biodiversity collections and apply the latest techniques in genomics to identify species and investigate how geological history and contemporary ecological factors influence the distribution of biodiversity on tropical mountains.Genomic methods for identifying species and their evolutionary relationships will revolutionize taxonomy and biodiversity studies, with subsequent benefits to other fields of science, agriculture, food inspection, public health, and invasive species detection. Improved understanding of the origin and distribution of mountain species within Mesoamerica is critical to evidenced-based conservation efforts and evaluation of the impacts of habitat conversion and climate change. Training in biodiversity science will occur at graduate and undergraduate levels at two public universities. The researchers will partner with the Natural History Museum of Utah to recruit undergraduates to science and reach out to the broader public, with an emphasis on underserved groups and quantifiable assessment of outreach activities.