DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Exploring species formation in southern Africa: A comparative approach using broadly distributed and distantly related squamate reptiles.

论文研究：探索南部非洲的物种形成：使用广泛分布且亲缘关系较远的有鳞爬行动物的比较方法。

• 批准号: 1407294
• 负责人: Brice Noonan
• 金额: $ 1.85万
• 依托单位: University of Mississippi
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-01 至 2016-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1407294&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Exploring; species; formation

How new species form is a central question of evolutionary biology. Scientists strive to understand how the natural processes that promote genetic and biological variation in diverse, natural habitats lead to new species formation. Local climate and geographic conditions are important components of this question, which often interact with species subsets (i.e., populations), leading them down independent evolutionary paths. Southern Africa has a geologically complex landscape, containing rock outcrops nearly as ancient as the Earth?s formation. Unlike temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, the climate of southern Africa has been predominantly warm and dry over most of its history. The combination of varied terrain and stable climate has produced an abundance of distinct habitats and microhabitats that promote diversity in both plant and animal life. This project focuses on three arid-adapted, rock-dwelling lizard species native to southern Africa, although these patterns will likely be comparable to other ecologically restricted, non-reptilian species. The investigators will explore whether species-specific ecological requirements, prehistoric climate history, and geology produce similar patterns of genetic and biological differentiation among these contemporary, co-distributed, and ecologically restricted lizards species and populations. We will be able to test the strength of genetic barriers on population connectivity and diversification by making comparisons over the complete geographic distributions of multiple, non-model organisms. The integration of genome-wide data with traditionally-used morphological trait data and prehistoric climate data will allow an integrative and revolutionary approach that has never before been applied to southern Africa's unique wildlife. Broader impacts include educational outreach via mentoring promising undergraduates, some of whom have been from underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines, and participating in local and regional science fair programs. This project includes developing expertise in genomic bioinformatics, which will then be passed on to the international research team in The University of Mississippi Biology Department. Dissemination of results will occur through peer-reviewed publication in open-access journals, presentations at scientific meetings, and all data will be made publicly available.

新物种如何形成是进化生物学的一个中心问题。科学家们努力了解在不同的自然栖息地促进遗传和生物变异的自然过程如何导致新物种的形成。当地气候和地理条件是这个问题的重要组成部分，它们往往与物种亚群（即，种群），引导它们走上独立的进化道路。非洲南部有着复杂的地质地貌，其中的岩石露头几乎与地球一样古老。的形成。与北方的温带地区不同，南部非洲的气候在其历史的大部分时间里主要是温暖和干燥的。多样的地形和稳定的气候相结合，产生了丰富的独特的生境和微生境，促进了植物和动物生命的多样性。该项目的重点是三个干旱适应，岩石栖息的蜥蜴物种原产于南部非洲，虽然这些模式可能会与其他生态限制，非爬行动物物种。研究人员将探索特定物种的生态要求，史前气候历史和地质是否会在这些当代，共同分布和生态限制的蜥蜴物种和种群之间产生类似的遗传和生物分化模式。我们将能够通过对多个非模式生物的完整地理分布进行比较，来测试遗传障碍对种群连通性和多样化的影响。将全基因组数据与传统使用的形态特征数据和史前气候数据相结合，将允许采用一种以前从未应用于南部非洲独特野生动物的综合性和革命性方法。更广泛的影响包括通过指导有前途的本科生进行教育推广，其中一些人来自STEM学科代表性不足的群体，并参加当地和区域科学博览会项目。该项目包括开发基因组生物信息学方面的专业知识，然后将其传递给密西西比大学生物系的国际研究团队。结果的传播将通过在开放获取期刊上发表经同行评审的文章、在科学会议上发表演讲等方式进行，所有数据都将公开提供。