Investigating how evolution of mate recognition traits drives speciation within an anuran ring species

物种之间的区别是什么？这个问题听起来可能很简单，但对许多动物来说，答案可能很复杂。每年都会描述非洲青蛙的新物种和亚种，但在许多情况下，没有足够的信息来了解这些新发现的实体可能是多么独特和独特。这项研究旨在研究横跨撒哈拉以南非洲的绿色金丝桃蛙群体的物种形成过程，该群体由大约60个命名物种和亚种组成的复杂混合体，颜色鲜艳。100多年来，科学家们一直在努力弄清楚，在金丝桃属的全面鉴定中，包含了多少不同的物种。在历史上，物种在很大程度上是通过颜色和地理分布的差异来识别的；然而，新的基因组数据表明，我们经常用来区分物种的物理线索可能并不总是正确的，甚至可能导致少计或多计物种的真实数量。这个项目使用创新的基因组资源来解决一个百年来的谜题，并提供对物种形成过程的见解。对这一群体中物种的数量和分布的新澄清也将有助于保护工作，因为如果不准确估计物种的数量和位置，旨在保护独特生物多样性的政策是无效的。这项研究的目的是评估系统发生学和物种形成的驱动因素在金丝桃属物种复合体中。约60个已知物种和亚种的基因组规模数据将允许准确估计谱系差异，形成跨该分支的特征差异比较的基础。目前已知的谱系主要是颜色差异、叫声变异和地理分布，但这些特征与遗传分化之间的关系尚不清楚。初步数据显示，该支系相对年轻，主要分布在低地和可能连续的地区，但与其他共同分布的金丝桃属物种相比，具有特殊的多样性。这种主要是夜间活动的血统的鲜艳色彩可能在真正的快速物种形成中发挥作用，或者可能夸大由于人类偏见而导致的分歧的科学估计。这项研究的结果将有助于了解多样性是如何在没有外部基因流动障碍的情况下发生的，同时澄清哪些物种特有的特征有助于物种识别，影响快速分化的谱系的进化命运。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

What differentiates species? This question may sound straightforward, but for many animals the answer can be complex. New species and subspecies of African frogs are described every year, but in many cases there is not enough information to understand how distinct and unique these newly-discovered entities might be. This research aims to study the process of speciation in the Hyperolius viridiflavus group of frogs consisting of a complex mix of approximately 60 named species and subspecies with bright coloration spanning sub-Saharan Africa. For more than 100 years, scientists have struggled to understand how many distinct species are contained within the catch-all identification of Hyperolius viridiflavus. Historically, species were largely recognized by differences in coloring and geographic distribution; however, new genomic data indicate that the physical cues we often use to distinguish species may not always be correct and may even result in under- or over-counting the true numbers of species. This project uses innovative genomic resources to address a century-old puzzle and provide insights into the process of speciation. The new clarification on the number and distribution of species within this group will also aid conservation efforts, as policies aimed toward protecting unique biodiversity are ineffective without an accurate estimate of how many species exist and where they are located. The goals of this study are to evaluate phylogenomics and the drivers of speciation in the Hyperolius viridiflavus species complex. Genomic scale data across the ~60 known species and subspecies will allow accurate estimation of lineage divergence, forming the basis for comparisons of trait variation across this clade. Current lineages are recognized primary on coloration differences, call variation, and geographic distributions, but relationships between these traits and genetic divergence are unknown. Preliminary data show that this clade is relatively young, and is primarily in lowland and potentially continuous areas, yet has exceptional diversification compared to other co-distributed Hyperolius species. The bright coloration of this largely nocturnal lineage may play a role in true rapid speciation, or could overinflate scientific estimations of divergence due to human biases. Results from this study will help inform how diversification occurs without external barriers to gene flow while clarifying which species-specific traits contribute to species recognition, influencing the evolutionary fate of a rapidly diverging lineage.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.