Evolution of morphology and ecology in hyperdiverse larval amphibian communities in Madagascar

热带地区的蛙类群落往往具有显著的物种多样性，在一个地点出现的物种多达50-100种。很少有研究系统地解决了这些高数量物种共存的因素。考虑到蛙类成虫期的相关物种在形态或营养上并不倾向于占据完全不同的生态位，幼虫期的生态位划分可能是形成这些物种丰富群落的关键因素。本项目试图通过结合一些创新技术和使用一个高度合适的模型区域，对一个高度多样化的热带蝌蚪群落进行首次大规模的生态研究。这项研究将在马达加斯加进行，在那里，无尾猿的系统学已经基本建立，申请人和其他同事已经建立了关于这些生物的大型分子、系统发育、分布和生物声学数据库。蝌蚪将通过DNA条形码被识别为物种，这是首次证明该技术在使用分子方法大规模识别脊椎动物生活史阶段的适用性的实地研究之一。将筛选各种技术和协同参数。营养水平将使用稳定同位素进行比较评估，这是一种成熟的技术，但迄今尚未应用于两栖动物幼虫。所获得的生态形态学特征将沿着现有的、完整的和已确定的马达加斯加青蛙分子系统发育进行绘制，并使用贝叶斯和似然统计追踪它们的进化。

Anuran (frog) communities in the tropics often reach remarkable levels of species diversity, with up to 50-100 species occurring at one site. Few studies have systematically addressed the factors allowing these high numbers of species to co-exist. Considering that related species of frogs in their adult phase do not tend to occupy radically different niches in morphology or nutrition, niche partitioning in the larval phase may be a key factor shaping these species-rich communities. The present project attempts the first large-scale ecological study of a hyperdiverse tropical tadpole community, by combining a number of innovative techniques and using a highly suitable model region. The study will be carried out in Madagascar, where anuran systematics are largely settled and large molecular, phylogenetic, distributional and bioacoustic databases on these organisms have been assembled by the applicant and other colleagues. Tadpoles will be identified to species by DNA barcoding, representing one of the first field studies to demonstrate the applicability of this technique to identify vertebrate life-history stages at a large scale using molecular methods. A variety of autecological and synecological parameters will be screened. Trophic levels will be comparatively assessed using stable isotopes, a well-established technique which, however, has so far not been applied to larval amphibians. The obtained ecomorphological characters will be plotted along an existing, complete and well-resolved molecular phylogeny of Madagascan frogs, and their evolution traced using Bayesian and likelihood statistics.