U.S.-Mexico Research: Systematic and Evolutionary Studies of Mexican Podostemaceae

该奖项将资助一项在墨西哥进行的为期两年的研究，以阐明新世界Podostemaceae的进化模式和过程，Podostemaceae是水生开花植物（河草）的最大家族。将进行实地收集计划和进化多样化模式和过程的实验研究。该收集将为随后的系统和进化研究提供基础，并将是建立分类框架的第一步，以估计多样性、对人类影响的敏感性以及作为水污染生物指标的潜在效用。足茎科的从这些研究中获得的见解将对规划整个家庭生殖系统的更大规模研究有价值。该项目是加利福尼亚州兰乔圣安娜植物园的C. Thomas Philbrick博士和墨西哥城墨西哥国立自治大学（UNAM）的Alejandro Novelo先生的合作研究成果。该项目提供了一个很好的机会，不仅可以研究生物多样性和进化，有时还可以研究特殊群体的繁殖和进化，还可以提高我们对水生开花植物生物多样性和进化的整体理解。

This award will fund a two year study in Mexico to elucidate the patterns and processes of evolution of New World Podostemaceae, the largest family of aquatic flowering plants (river weeds). Both a field collection program and experimental studies of the patterns and processes of evolutionary diversification will be conducted. The collection will provide the foundation for subsequent systematic and evolutionary studies and will be the first step in the production of a taxonomic framework to estimate the diversity, sensitivity to human impact, and potential utility, as biological indicators of water pollution, of the Podostemaceae. The insight gained from these studies will be valuable in planning broader scale studies of reproductive systems throughout the family. The project is a collaborative research effort between Dr. C. Thomas Philbrick, of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden, California and Mr. Alejandro Novelo, of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City. The project provides a great opportunity not only to study reproduction and evolution in a biologically diverse and sometimes peculiar group but will also improve our understanding of the biodiversity and evolution of aquatic flowering plants overall.