Hybridization and Evolution in Slender Salamanders (Plethodontidae: Batrachoseps)

这项研究考察了杂交在蝙蝠属细长火蜥蜴进化中的作用，该属是无肺火蜥科(Plethodontidae)家族的成员。初步数据表明，深度分化的谱系之间的杂交在蝙蝠中反复发生，并影响形态变异。在细长的火蜥蜴中，杂交的机会很常见，因为独立的谱系之间存在大量的地理联系。这项研究将使用DNA序列数据来进一步研究细长火蜥蜴的进化史，并识别杂交实例。它将使用形态测量数据来表征形态变异，并量化杂交对这种变异的影响。这里提出的工作将对未来科学家的保护和培训以及进化生物学产生更广泛的影响。几乎一半的蝙蝠属物种被认为是特别受关注、受威胁或濒危的物种，这项工作通过确定物种边界和分布直接解决了当前的保护问题。该基金还提供了培训一名研究生(他们将接受做形态学工作的培训)和一名博士后研究员(他们将完成大部分分子工作)的机会，并包括一系列为本科生参与设计的独立项目。

This research examines the role of hybridization in the evolution of slender salamanders of the genus Batrachoseps, a member of the lungless salamander family (Plethodontidae). Preliminary data suggest that hybridization between deeply differentiated lineages has occurred repeatedly in Batrachoseps and that it affects morphological variation. Opportunities for hybridization are common in slender salamanders because of the numerous instances of geographic contact between independent lineages. This research will use DNA sequence data to further investigate the evolutionary history of slender salamanders and identify instances of hybridization. It will use morphometric data to characterize morphological variation, and to quantify the impact of hybridization on this variation. The work proposed here will have broader impacts for conservation and the training of future scientists, as well as for evolutionary biology. Almost half of all Batrachoseps species are considered of special concern, threatened, or endangered, and this work directly addresses current conservation issues by determining species boundaries and distributions. The grant also offers the opportunity for training of a graduate student (who will be trained to do the morphological work) and a postdoctoral researcher (who will do the bulk of the molecular work), and includes a series of independent projects designed for undergraduate participation.