Dissertation Research: Radiation, Evolution, and Interaction of Two Sulawesi Macaque Species

物种形成是一种新的进化上独立的实体出现的过程，它构成了今天看到的许多生物多样性的基础。出于这个原因，它一直是许多理论工作的焦点，导致了许多关于新物种如何产生的模型，以及关于物种是什么的许多经常有争议的定义。尽管有这些工作，但很少有对灵长类动物的经验研究揭示物种形成的动态。研究人员建议详细研究两种假定的天猿猴及其杂交物种，以更清楚地了解地理分离和随后的内化的遗传后果。这两个物种是印度尼西亚苏拉威西岛上的猕猴复合体Macaca Maurus和M.tonkeana的成员。遗传物质将从每个物种范围内和中间杂交区域的数百个个体中收集。利用自动DNA测序技术，将对线粒体和核基因组进行调查，以寻找信息丰富的标记，揭示跨杂交区的基因流动的方向和速度，每个物种的雄性和雌性在这一杂交过程中的相对贡献，以及杂交对每个物种长期进化完整性的遗传影响。女性的贡献将使用mtDNA标记进行追踪，而男性介导的基因流动将使用nDNA微卫星重建。这项研究将阐明高等灵长类物种形成的过程，导致其随后崩溃的因素，以及为什么苏拉威西岛上有这么多种类的猕猴。

Speciation, a process whereby a new evolutionarily independent entity arises, underlies much of the biological diversity seen today. For this reason, it has been the focus of much theoretical work leading to many models of how new species arise and many, often controversial definitions of what a species is. Despite this work, few empirical studies of primates have shed light on the dynamics of speciation. The researchers propose to examine in detail two putative species of cercopithecine monkey and their hybrids, in order to gain a clearer understanding of the genetic consequences of geographic separation and subsequent intergradation. The two species are members of the macaque complex, Macaca maurus and M. tonkeana, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Genetic material will be collected from several hundred individuals within the range of each species and across the intervening hybrid zone. Using automated DNA sequencing technology, the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes will be surveyed for informative markers that reveal the direction and rate of gene flow across the hybrid zone, the relative contribution of males and females of each species to this hybridization process, and the genetic effects of hybridization on the long term evolutionary integrity of each species. Female contributions will be tracked using mtDNA markers, while male mediated gene flow will be reconstructed using nDNA microsatellites. This study will shed light on the process of species formation among higher primates, factors leading to its subsequent breakdown, and possibly why there are so many species of macaque monkeys on Sulawesi.