Molecular Systematics, Biogeography, and Conservation Genetics of Asian Anthropoid Primates

东南亚是东半球高等灵长类动物(猴子和类人猿)多样性最大的地区。尽管这种多样性，以及对其研究的悠久历史，但对于现存的物种和属的数量以及它们之间的关系，几乎没有达成一致意见。在这些问题上建立基本共识的必要性对于研究我们自身的进化极其重要，对这些独特的亚洲灵长类动物的保护管理也至关重要。这个项目的主要目标是：(1)使用一套全面的分子数据来重建亚洲猕猴、叶猴和长臂猿之间的进化关系；(2)通过同时考虑这三类高等灵长类动物各自的进化关系、它们目前的地理分布以及我们所知道的发生这种巨大多样性的地区的地质过程、气候和生态，来重建它们的进化历史；以及(3)为每个群体所包含的物种的保护确定适当的分类单位和地理区域。该项目的成功完成将大大增加我们对哺乳动物进化的了解，并有助于保护灵长类生物多样性。

Southeast Asia harbors the greatest diversity of higher primates (monkeys and apes) in the old world. Despite this diversity, and a long history of its study, there is little agreement on the number of species and genera that exist and how they are related to one another. The need to establish a basic consensus on these issues is extremely important to the study of our own evolution and vital to the conservation management of these unique Asian primates. The primary goals of this project are to: (1) use a comprehensive set of molecular data to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships among Asia's macaque monkeys, leaf monkeys, and gibbon apes; (2) reconstruct the evolutionary histories of these three groups of higher primates by simultaneously considering their respective evolutionary relationships, their current geographical distributions, and what we know of the geological processes, climate and ecology of the regions in which this great diversification took place at the time it was occurring; and (3) define the appropriate taxonomic units and geographical regions for the conservation of the species that each group contains. The successful completion of this project will add significantly to our understanding of mammalian evolution and to the conservation of primate biodiversity.