Understanding diversification and distribution patterns of the New Guinea flora

新几内亚是世界上植物种类最多的岛屿。在亚洲独一无二的是，超过75%的森林仍然完好无损，尽管这些森林被认为对减缓气候变化至关重要，但它们正面临着基础设施开发和油棕榈特许权转换的森林砍伐威胁。记录新几内亚的植物群依赖于基本的分类学知识，特别是那些经常被称为“分类学黑洞”的物种丰富的群体。将采样良好、分辨率高的物种起源纳入关键的分类学研究是朝着更好、往往是更快地了解物种丰富的群体迈出的关键一步。加快分类产出的速度对于采取行动应对对该岛生境的威胁至关重要。确定是什么决定了新几内亚植物群的分布模式也是保护工作的关键。植物性状通过允许它们在特定环境中成功来决定它们的分布。该项目将侧重于Cyrtandra，这是苦苣苔科（非洲紫罗兰科）的灌木和草本植物的下层属，就本土物种而言，它是新几内亚最多样化的属之一，超过95%是该岛特有的。由于新几内亚大部分物种多样性由非树木组成（63%），因此Cyrtandra是了解新几内亚植物群多样性和分布格局的理想案例研究。此外，它显示适当的植物性状的变化，营养和生殖。使用NGS技术，学生将构建新几内亚Cyrtandra的进化史，以揭示其进化历史并为正在进行的分类工作提供信息。他们将从植物标本馆的标本观察中建立一个植物性状数据库，以研究植物性状是否与特定的谱系有关。是否有一系列的特征使一些物种能够更广泛地分布，而另一些物种则限制在更小的地理区域？这些植物特征中是否有任何一个与环境变量或生物因素（如传粉者和传播者）相关？此外，他们将测试我们是否可以使用植物特征和环境数据的模式来预测栖息地丧失和气候变化对Cyrtandra物种分布的影响。这名学生将成为基尤团队的一员，与印度尼西亚和巴布亚新几内亚的合作伙伴一起记录新几内亚的植物群，这两个国家都是基尤科学战略的重点国家。他们将参加新几内亚的实地考察，并获得基因组学和分类学以及生态和环境建模方面的技能。通过绘制物种分布图和模拟植物特征及其与Cyrtandra环境变量的关系，并将其与基尤研究的其他属进行比较，它们将影响保护岛上植物群的努力，以保护物种多样性和当地社区的生计，建立在其他基尤项目中应用的成功策略，例如Ebo森林。

New Guinea is the world's most floristically diverse island. Uniquely in Asia, >75% of its forests are still intact, but although these forests are recognised as vital for climate change mitigation, they are under threat of deforestation for infrastructure development and conversion for oil palm concessions. Documenting the flora of New Guinea is dependent on baseline taxonomic knowledge, particularly of species-rich groups often labelled as 'taxonomic black holes'. The integration of well-sampled, well-resolved phylogenies into critical taxonomic research is a key step towards an improved and often accelerated understanding of species-rich groups. Increasing the speed that taxonomic outputs are produced is crucial to act against the threats to the island's habitats. Ascertaining what determines distribution patterns within the New Guinea flora is also key to conservation efforts. Plant traits dictate their distributions by allowing them to succeed in specific environments. This project will focus on Cyrtandra, an understorey genus of shrubs and herbs in the Gesneriaceae (African Violet family), one of the most diverse genera on New Guinea in terms of native species, with over 95% endemic to the island. Since the majority of the species diversity in New Guinea consists of non-trees (63%), Cyrtandra is an ideal case study for understanding diversification and distribution patterns of the New Guinea flora. Furthermore, it displays suitable variation in plant traits, both vegetative and reproductive. Using NGS techniques the student will construct a phylogeny of New Guinea Cyrtandra to reveal its evolutionary history and inform ongoing taxonomic work. They will build a plant trait database from Herbarium specimen observations to investigate whether plant traits can be associated with particular lineages. Are there suites of traits that enable some species to be more widespread and limit others to smaller geographic areas? Do any of these plant traits correlate with environmental variables, or biotic factors such as pollinators and dispersers? Furthermore, they will test whether we can use patterns in plant traits and environmental data to predict the effects of habitat loss and climate change on the distribution of Cyrtandra species. The student will be part of a Kew team documenting the flora of New Guinea with partners in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, both priority countries in Kew's Science Strategy. They will participate in fieldwork on New Guinea and gain skills in genomics and taxonomy, as well as in ecological and environmental modelling. By mapping species distributions and modelling plant traits and their relationships with environmental variables in Cyrtandra, and comparing these to other genera studied by Kew, they will impact on efforts to conserve the island's flora to protect species diversity and the livelihoods of local communities, building on the successful strategies applied in other Kew projects e.g. Ebo forest.