OPUS: The Diversity and Comparative Biology of Geckos

这项研究将综合所有关于壁虎进化关系、古生物学和多样性的数据，壁虎是一群1600多种蜥蜴，分布在全球温暖气候地区。研究人员将利用合成揭示的壁虎之间的关系模式来解释壁虎的生态、行为、生理和其他特征的进化。该项目将在公众可访问的网站上提供以前未出版的原始数据，并将出版一本全面的书，描述壁虎的多样性和比较生物学。该项目将确定进化生物学的研究途径，对于壁虎来说，壁虎是理想的模型系统，并将用于指导学生和其他人未来的研究。该项目将通过提供参与该项目基础研究的所有级别的机会，促进一个以本科生为主的机构的生物学本科生和硕士学生的专业发展。它还将与针对普通公众、特别是儿童的博物馆巡回展览对接，利用壁虎促进对全球生物多样性的理解和欣赏。与Gekota内的谱系、空间和时间关系相关的数据(古生物学、形态、等位基因、mtDNA、多基因数据(Sanger和下一代测序、核学等))将进行评估、综合，并考虑冲突的根源。三十年来收集的数据将从已发表的论文和未发表的项目中汇编而成。这些数据将被合并成新的、扩展的矩阵，并使用各种广泛使用的系统发育方法进行分析。PI将评估数据质量、系统发育信号的强度，在数据集之间发生冲突的情况下，将确定可能的原因，并为首选解释提供理由。现有的生物数据将在使用正式方法(例如，在整棵树或部分树上重建感兴趣的性状的祖先状态)生成的系统发育图的背景下进行分析，或者，如果数据太不完整，则将对其进行定性评估。将确定知识差距，并选择研究优先事项，以缩小这些差距，并查明壁虎将是特别好的系统的进化问题，从而促进广泛的研究人员对该群体进行比较生物学调查。

This research will synthesize all data available about the evolutionary relationships, paleontology, and diversity of geckos, a group of more than 1600 lizard species with a worldwide distribution in warm-climate areas. The researcher will use the pattern of relationships among geckos revealed by the synthesis to interpret the evolution of ecological, behavioral, physiological, and other traits of geckos. The project will make previously unpublished raw data available on publicly accessible websites and will result in publication of a comprehensive book describing the diversity and comparative biology of geckos. The project will identify avenues of research in evolutionary biology for which geckos are an ideal model system and will serve to guide the future research of students and others. This project will contribute to the professional development of Biology undergraduates and Masters students at a primarily undergraduate institution by providing opportunities for participation at all levels of the research underlying this project. It will also interface with a traveling museum exhibit aimed at the general public, and children in particular, that uses geckos to promote the understanding and appreciation of global biodiversity. Data relating to the genealogical, spatial and temporal relationships within Gekkota (paleontology, morphology, allozymes, mtDNA, multigene data (Sanger and Next Generation sequencing, karyology, etc.) will be evaluated, synthesized and the sources of conflict considered. Data gathered over three decades will be compiled from published papers as well as unpublished projects. These data will be combined into new, expanded matrices and analyzed using a diversity of widely employed phylogenetic methods. The PI will assess data quality, the strength of the phylogenetic signal, and in the case of conflicts among datasets, will identify probable causes and provide the rationale for a preferred interpretation. Available biological data will be analyzed in the context of the phylogenies generated using either formal methods (e.g., ancestral state reconstruction of traits of interest, either across the entire tree or some portions thereof), or, if data are too incomplete for this, they will be assessed qualitatively. Knowledge gaps will be identified and research priorities will be selected to both close these gaps and pinpoint evolutionary questions for which geckos would be especially good systems, thus facilitating comparative biological investigations of the group by a broad spectrum of researchers.