US-South Africa Planning Visit: The Cape of Good Hope Region as a Model to Understand Marine Speciation

0117358Bernardi该奖项支持加州大学圣克鲁斯分校生物系Giacomo Bernardi教授计划于2001年6月访问南非。Bernardi教授将与比勒陀利亚大学遗传学系的Paulette Bloomer教授合作，评估对在好望角地区发现的鱼类进行研究的可能性。他们将决定是否在那里发现匹配的生物地理和系统地理断裂。海洋环境中涉及物种形成（物种形成）的机制尚不清楚。已经提出了几个模型来解释海洋物种形成的过程。在美国东南部，一个被充分研究的系统强调了种群在一个确定的地理区域（系统地理断裂）的遗传划分的作用。这种系统地理断裂也与物种不连续区（生物地理边界）相匹配。这个系统现在有很好的文档，但到目前为止还没有推广到其他系统。在计划访问南非期间，Bernardi和Bloomer将尝试收集在开普地区大西洋和印度洋两侧都有种群的鱼类，这些鱼类是南部非洲特有的。如果成功，他们将向美国和南非的资助机构提出合作研究提案。

0117358BernardiThis award supports a planning visit to South Africa by Professor Giacomo Bernardi, Department of Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz in June 2001. Professor Bernardi will work with Professor Paulette Bloomer, Department of Genetics, University of Pretoria to evaluate the possibility of doing a study on fish species whose populations are found across the Cape of Good Hope region. They will determine whether matching biogeographic and phylogeographic breaks would be found there. The mechanisms involved in the formation of species (speciation) in the marine environment are poorly known. Several models have been proposed to explain the processes of marine speciation. One well-studied system, in the southeastern United States, emphasized the role of genetic partitioning of populations across a defined geographic region (phylogeographic break). This phylogeographic break also matched a region of species discontinuity (biogeographic boundary). This system is now well documented, but so far has not been generalized to other systems. During the planning visit to South Africa, Bernardi and Bloomer will try to collect fishes whose populations are found on both Atlantic and Indian Ocean sides of the Cape Region and that are endemic to Southern Africa. If successful, they will formulate proposals for cooperative research proposals to US and South African funding agencies.