DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Comparative phylogeography of three co-distributed Neotropical mangrove species

红树林为许多经济上重要的动物，如鱼类、鸟类和海洋无脊椎动物，提供了宝贵的生态系统服务和栖息地。红红树（Rhizophora mangle）、黑红树（Avicennia germinans）和白红树（Laguncularia racemosa）是在整个新热带地区的河口生境中发现的沿海树木。该项目将使用遗传工具、进化分析和生态位模型来分析目前的分布，然后使用这些数据来模拟这三种物种过去和未来的地理分布。该项目还将调查传播能力与观察到的遗传多样性模式之间的相关性，并推断种子传播潜力如何影响广泛地理尺度上种群的遗传结构。一名研究生将接受不同分子方法、生态位建模和系统发育分析方面的培训，本科生将接受不同领域和实验室技术的培训。在佛罗里达、阿鲁巴、开曼群岛和牙买加收集这三种红树林物种的一系列讲座和报告将广泛传播研究结果。美国东南部沿海和海洋动物的比较系统地理学已经得到了很好的研究，许多分类群在佛罗里达南端表现出系统地理学的不连续性。相比之下，只有两项研究调查了该地区沿海或海洋植物物种的系统地理学。在加勒比地区，历史生物地理学的研究同样严重偏向脊椎动物。需要对佛罗里达和加勒比地区的沿海植物进行进一步研究，以促进该地区的系统地理综合。研究人员将调查佛罗里达州三种红树林（Rhizophora mangle， Avicennia germinans和Laguncularia racemosa）的系统地理历史。他们将验证这样一个假设：与其他沿海生物相比，这些高度分散的生物的系统地理结构不那么明显，繁殖体的大小、寿命和靠近水的程度将与系统地理结构负相关。为了帮助将这些模式置于更广泛的背景下，研究人员还将调查加勒比地区R. mangle的系统地理学。本项目将使用多种分子标记，包括完整的质体基因组、RAD-Seq数据和具有不同遗传模式和突变率的微卫星，深入研究这三个物种的系统地理学。所获得的数据将有助于综合佛罗里达州和加勒比地区的动植物系统地理学和生物地理学研究，并有助于确定不同地区今后的保护优先事项。

Mangroves provide valuable ecosystem services and habitats for many economically important animals, such as fish, birds, and marine invertebrates. Red (Rhizophora mangle), black (Avicennia germinans), and white (Laguncularia racemosa) mangroves are coastal trees found in estuarine habitats throughout the Neotropics. This project will use genetic tools, evolutionary analyses and niche modeling to analyze current distributions, and then use these data to model past and future geographical distributions for the three species. The project will also investigate the correlation between dispersal ability and observed patterns of genetic diversity, and infer how seed dispersal potential can affect the genetic structure of populations on broad geographic scales. One graduate student will be trained in diverse molecular methods, niche modeling and phylogenetic analyses, and undergraduates will be introduced to a diversity of field and laboratory techniques. A series of talks and presentations will broadly disseminate results of the study in Florida, Aruba, Cayman Islands, and Jamaica where the three mangrove species will be collected. The comparative phylogeography of coastal and marine animals in the southeastern U. S. has been well studied, with many taxa exhibiting a phylogeographic discontinuity at the southern tip of Florida. In contrast, only two studies have examined the phylogeography of coastal or marine plant species in this region. In the Caribbean, studies of historical biogeography have similarly been heavily biased towards vertebrates. Further study of coastal plants is needed in Florida and the Caribbean to facilitate phylogeographic synthesis for the region. The researchers will investigate the phylogeographic histories of three mangrove species (Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia germinans, and Laguncularia racemosa) in Florida. They will test the hypothesis that phylogeographic structure is less pronounced in these highly dispersed organisms than in other coastal organisms, and that propagule size, longevity and proximity to water will be negatively correlated with phylogeographic structure. To help place these patterns in a broader context, the researchers will also investigate the phylogeography of R. mangle in the Caribbean. This project will use multiple molecular markers, including complete plastid genomes, RAD-Seq data, and microsatellites, each with different modes of inheritance and mutation rates, to thoroughly investigate the phylogeography of these three species. Data obtained will facilitate a synthesis of animal and plant phylogeographic and biogeographic studies in Florida and the Caribbean, and also help identify future conservation priorities in the different areas.