Collaborative Research: Plant discovery in the southern Philippines

菲律宾群岛由7500多个岛屿组成，已知含有高水平的独特植物和动物多样性，但其中几个岛屿，特别是该国南部的米沙鄢和棉兰老岛，仍然需要密集采样。许多动植物物种，包括潜在的农作物，等待发现和描述，即使大片地区受到森林砍伐的威胁。这个为期四年的项目将通过一系列大型实地考察，然后进行分类研究和正式描述，记录和描述菲律宾南部的陆地植物和地衣多样性。项目小组将通过结合博物馆实物收藏和高分辨率照片，记录各种植物物种的出现和丰富程度。所有图像和地点数据将以易于搜索的格式放在网上。该项目还将建立一个DNA储存库，储存实地考察期间收集的样本，供今后进行家谱研究。项目数据将用于收集菲律宾南部不同地区的物种清单，以确定生物多样性热点和土地管理决策的优先次序。将为德克萨斯州和北卡罗来纳州的本科生和研究生研究人员提供实地和实验室方法方面的各种培训，为他们从事各种科学职业做好准备。美国高中生将通过基于项目的课程学习生物多样性，包括接触收集，数字数据和空间分析。通过德克萨斯州植物研究所（BRIT）的在线互动项目，将在美国和菲律宾向科学家和公众广泛传播研究成果。此次菲律宾南部的植物调查将通过八次大型实地考察进行。植物标本馆的标本将被数字化，并与项目产生的收藏品中的相关元数据和现场活标本和博物馆标本的图像一起沿着免费传播。 将使用形态学和分子系统学方法相结合的方法对收集的标本进行分析，以产生多种分类产品，包括修订版、区域注释清单和多条目检索表。项目数据将用于描述物种丰富度和特有性的模式，并检验与更新世陆地形态对菲律宾植物群的影响有关的地理学假设。该项目将发现新物种，重新发现鲜为人知的物种，并记录菲律宾的新物种记录。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Philippines archipelago, comprising over 7500 islands, is known to contain high levels of unique plant and animal diversity but several of the islands, especially Visayas and Mindanao in the south of the country, still need to be intensively sampled. Many animal and plant species, including potential crop plants, await discovery and description even as extensive areas are threatened by deforestation. This four-year project will document and describe land plant and lichen diversity in the southern Philippines through a series of large field expeditions followed by taxonomic study and formal description. The project team will document the occurrence and abundance of diverse plant species through a combination of physical museum collections and high-resolution photographs. All images and locality data will be placed online in easily searchable formats. The project will also develop a DNA repository of collections made during the field expeditions for future genealogical studies. Project data will be used to assemble species inventories in different areas of the southern Philippines to both identify biodiversity hotspots and prioritize land management decisions. Diverse training in field and laboratory methods will be provided to undergraduate and graduate researchers in Texas and North Carolina to prepare them for diverse science careers. U.S. high school students will learn about biodiversity through a project-based curriculum that includes exposure to collections, digital data, and spatial analysis. Outreach, including online interactive programs through the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), will disseminate research findings broadly within the U.S. and the Philippines to both scientists and the public.This botanical survey of the southern Philippines will be conducted through eight major field expeditions. Herbarium specimens will be digitized and freely disseminated along with associated metadata and images of both living in-situ and museum specimens derived from the collections generated by the project. Collections will be analyzed using a combination of morphological and molecular systematic approaches to produce a diversity of taxonomic products, including revisions, regional annotated checklists, and multi-entry keys. Project data will be used to characterize patterns of species richness and endemism and test biogeographic hypotheses associated with the effect of Pleistocene land conformations on the Philippine flora. The project will discover new species, rediscover poorly known species, and document new species records for the Philippines.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.