OPUS: MCS: Using modern methods with historical museum specimens to elucidate the evolution of a widespread, ecologically important rodent species

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The North American deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) is one of the most widespread and variable rodent species in North America. This rodent is of great public health interest because it serves as a reservoir for a variety of disease-causing organisms that can be transmitted to humans, such as hantaviruses and Lyme disease. There is substantial evidence that there may be several different species within what is currently known as P. maniculatus. Given the importance of this mouse as a disease reservoir, and as a model system for many different kinds of biological studies, it is important to know how many species there are within this group, where these species occur, and their role in disease transmission and other biological processes. This project analyzes the morphology and genetics of specimens from natural history collections to examine morphological and genetic variation within P. maniculatus across North America to discover and describe new species. Findings from this research may uncover that only certain P. maniculatus species are reservoirs for particular diseases and that not all species may be appropriate as model systems for some biological studies. Due to the importance of this species in many biological fields, the broader impacts of this project easily extend to public education. The researchers will partner with the NSF-funded Biodiversity Literacy in Undergraduate Education and local education initiatives to develop education modules that will be disseminated to classrooms nationwide. The modules will be based on the distribution, diversity, ecology, disease reservoir potential, and cultural and biological influences on health and disease of P. maniculatus. The modules will allow students to generate research questions using data from natural history collections, which will foster understanding of the scientific process and expose students to the importance of natural history collections in fundamental science.Although P. maniculatus has been a model system for multiple topics in evolutionary biology, behavior and ecology, there is evidence that there may be cryptic lineages within this widespread species. Given the importance of P. maniculatus as a disease reservoir and as a model system for studies in many disciplines, it is imperative to understand the geographic variation within this species, and the extent to which it encompasses unrecognized cryptic species. This project will analyze morphology, including micro-CT scans, and genomic data derived from specimens housed in natural history museums (promoting the utility and importance of these invaluable resources). Combined analysis of genomic and morphological data will be used to identify species lineages within the P. maniculatus complex. Findings from this project will have important implications for using P. maniculatus as a model system in disease ecology and other studies.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.