Anatomy of a Biodiversity Hotspot: Marsupial, Rodent, and Bat Diversity in Northwestern Argentina

生物多样性热点解剖：阿根廷西北部的有袋动物、啮齿动物和蝙蝠多样性将对阿根廷西北部的有袋动物、啮齿动物和蝙蝠进行为期三年的调查。 这是热带安第斯山脉热点的最南端，被国际保护组织指定为世界上生物最丰富的地区，当植物，两栖动物，哺乳动物，鸟类和爬行动物的数据被认为是在一起，支持地方特有物种的异常集中。 该地区也被认为是"脆弱的"，"区域突出"的生物，并已给予最高优先在国际和区域规模的世界银行。 这一地理上重要的区域在生物学上基本上未被探索。研究区域面积469 000平方公里，包括高海拔和低海拔安第斯地区以及从胡胡伊到拉里奥哈各省的安第斯前山麓。主要栖息地包括普纳、普雷普纳、永加斯森林、山地草原、查科、山地查科和蒙特沙漠。微生境的多样性很高，有许多孤立的山谷和山地岛屿。该地区是生物群南北迁移的天然走廊，并被假设为许多类群的多样性中心。它是地理隔离和随后物种形成的理想地区。虽然该地区被公认为世界上生物多样性最丰富的地区，但它也正在经历异常高的栖息地丧失率。涉及农业、过度放牧、旅游业、砍伐森林、采矿、水坝建设以及石油和天然气勘探的经济发展活动对所有生境都造成了相当大的压力。将在阿根廷西北部的许多地方对有袋动物、啮齿动物和蝙蝠进行调查，并收集凭证标本并存入博物馆收藏。有关栖息地使用，习惯，蜕皮，繁殖和自然历史的数据将被记录。一个可通过SNOMNH网站进入的项目数据库将提供关于识别、地点和标本数据的信息。将以印刷和电子格式制作调查表、核对表和识别码。将描述新的分类群。研究将检查系统发育关系，地理学和保护。数据将有助于选择保护地点，并提供有关这一受威胁地区主要栖息地的栖息地选择、繁殖和物种组成的基线信息。相关项目包括开发一个考察网站，提交一份关于REU补充材料的提案，以及提交一份关于ISE（非正式科学教育）补充材料的提案。该项目将包括来自美国和阿根廷的合作者。阿根廷和美国学生将在现场和实验室得到支持和培训。

ANATOMY OF A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT: MARSUPIAL, RODENT, AND BAT DIVERSITY IN NORTHWESTERN ARGENTINAA three-year survey of marsupials, rodents, and bats in northwestern Argentina will be conducted. This is the southernmost part of the Tropical Andes Hotspot designated by Conservation International as the biologically richest area in the world when data on plants, amphibians, mammals, birds, and reptiles are considered together, supporting an exceptional concentration of endemic species. The region also is considered "Vulnerable," "Regionally Outstanding" biologically, and has been given the Highest Priority at both an International and Regional Scale by the World Bank. This biogeographically significant region is largely unexplored biologically. The study area, 469,000 km2, encompasses the high- and low-elevation Andean region and the pre-Andean foothills of the provinces from Jujuy to La Rioja. Major habitats include puna, prepuna, Yungas forest, montane grasslands, Chaco, montane Chaco, and Monte desert. Microhabitat diversity is high and numerous isolated valleys and montane islands exist. The area is a natural corridor for north-south migration of biota and has been hypothesized as a center of diversity for many taxa. It is an ideal area for geographic isolation and subsequent speciation. While the region is being recognized as the most biologically diverse in the world, it also is undergoing exceptional rates of loss of habitat. Economic development activities involving agriculture, overgrazing, tourism, deforestation, mining, dam construction, and oil and gas exploration are placing considerable stress on all habitats. Marsupials, rodents, and bats will be surveyed at numerous localities in northwestern Argentina and voucher specimens will be collected and deposited in museum collections. Data on habitat use, habits, molting, reproduction, and natural history will be recorded. A project database, accessible through the SNOMNH web site, will provide information on identifications, localities, and specimen data. Surveys, checklists, and identification keys will be produced in print and electronic format. New taxa will be described. Research will examine phylogenetic relationships, biogeography, and conservation. Data will aid in choosing sites for preservation and provide baseline information on habitat selection, reproduction, and species composition for major habitats in this threatened region. Related projects include the development of an expedition website, submission of a proposal for an REU supplement, and submission of a proposal for an ISE (Informal Science Education) supplement. The project will include collaborators from the US and Argentina. Argentine and US students will be supported and trained in the field and in the laboratory.