DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Phylogeny of the Liolaemus montanus group and high resolution species delimitation in the L. robustus clade (Squamata, Liolaemidae).

热带安第斯山脉为许多动物和植物群体的生物多样性研究提供了天然实验室，但许多特有物种仅限于偏远的高海拔地区，对此研究甚少。 其中一个鲜为人知的群体是蜥蜴属Liolaemus，该项目将使用DNA序列：1）提出该属的一个主要亚群（被认为包含约45个物种）的进化关系假设; 2）评估在Liolaemus的较小物种群中划分物种的替代方法。为了这两个目标，我们将对新的地理位置进行采样，并首次采用“下一代”DNA测序技术为目标群体收集大型分子数据集，并采用更新的统计方法基于多个独立类别的数据（形态学，生态学，DNA等）解决物种边界。 这些蜥蜴将作为其他生物多样性研究的模式生物，并促进对热带安第斯生物群的进一步实地取样和综合分类研究。 我们的研究将揭示神秘的多样性，促进新物种的发现，并提供一个更好的了解该地区？的生物多样性。新物种的描述将涉及本科生合著者，而进化关系的重建将作为这些蜥蜴胎生进化的比较研究框架，以及它们如何在最恶劣的高海拔安第斯气候中殖民。该项目将通过开发大型单核苷酸多态性（SNP）数据集来生成新数据，并采用新的非树木为基础的物种界定方法（SDL），以测试替代物种的假设，蜥蜴的Liolaemus robustus种组。这项研究将测试SDL假设的基础上线粒体（mt）DNA，形态学和生物气候数据。该项目将使用一种新的贝叶斯因子SDL方法，使用SNP数据测试这些替代方案，该方法不需要指导树，并在非嵌套替代模型之间进行比较。这项研究将提供有关这种特殊蜥蜴进化史的新知识，并在南美洲一个鲜为人知但生物多样性丰富的地区测试这种方法的实用性。我们还将开发最完整的进化史为鲜为人知的Liolaemus montanus分支，基于迄今为止最广泛的物种和特征采样。

The tropical Andes provide a natural laboratory for biodiversity studies for many animal and plant groups, yet many of the endemic species are restricted to remote high-elevation areas that are poorly studied. One of these poorly-known groups is the lizard genus Liolaemus, and this project will use DNA sequences to: 1) propose a hypothesis of evolutionary relationships for one major subgroup of this genus (thought to contain ~ 45 species); and 2) evaluate alternative methods of delimiting species in a smaller species group of Liolaemus. For both objectives we will sample new geographic locations, and for the first time employ 'Next Generation' DNA sequencing technologies to collect large molecular data sets for the target groups, and newer statistical methods for resolving species boundaries based on multiple independent classes of data (morphology, ecology, DNA, etc.). These lizards will serve as model organisms for other biodiversity studies, and stimulate further field sampling and integrative taxonomic studies of the tropical Andean biota. Our study will reveal cryptic diversity, promote the discovery of the new species, and provide a better understanding of the region?s biodiversity. The description of new species will involve undergraduate student co-authors, while reconstruction of evolutionary relationships will serve as a framework for comparative studies of the evolution of viviparity in these lizards, and how they have colonized the harshest high-elevation Andean climates.This project will generate new data via development of a large Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) dataset, and employ new non-tree based species delimitation methods (SDL) to test alternative species hypotheses in the lizards of the Liolaemus robustus species group. This research will test SDL hypotheses based on mitochondrial (mt) DNA, morphological, and bioclimatic data. The project will test these alternatives with SNP data using a new Bayes factor SDL approach that does not require a guide tree, and compares across non-nested alternative models. This study will provide new knowledge about the evolutionary history of this particular clade of lizards, and test the utility of this approach in a poorly-known but biodiversity-rich part of South America. We will also develop the most complete phylogeny for the poorly-known Liolaemus montanus clade, based on the most extensive sampling of species and characters available to date.