Systematics of a Neotropical Diversification: the Ovenbirds and Woodcreepers (Furnariidae)

达尔文生活在加拉帕戈斯群岛的雀类是最令人印象深刻的进化论例子之一。在殖民岛屿后，单一的原始雀类物种最终多样化为13个不同大小、喙形状和生态环境的物种。想象一下，如果这种祖先物种的分布不局限于一小部分岛屿，而是整个南美洲大陆都可以多样化！这正是发生在一群鸟类身上的事情，这些鸟类通常被称为燕鸟和爬林鸟(雀科)。从单一的祖先物种开始，现在有326个物种在身体形状和大小、觅食行为和筑巢结构上存在巨大差异。该项目的主要目标是使用DNA序列来重建所有326种燕鸟和森林爬行动物的进化历史。超过97%的燕雀和爬行动物物种在南美洲被发现，因此一棵包含所有326个物种的进化树将允许详细了解导致令人印象深刻的辐射的历史过程。这个由美国、巴西和威尼斯科学家合作的项目的一个重要组成部分是它将提供的研究培训。由于计划在玻利维亚、巴西、智利、哥伦比亚、秘鲁、苏里南和委内瑞拉进行实地考察，来自北美和南美的年轻科学家不仅将接触到多样化的自然环境，还将与他们的国际同行互动并建立关系。通过合作重建可能是世界上最壮观的鸟类进化辐射，研究人员将在培训新一代科学家的同时，了解进化如何在大陆范围内发挥作用。该项目得到了美国国家科学基金会国际科学与工程办公室的部分支持。

Darwin's finches of the Galapagos Islands stand as one of the most impressive examples of evolution. After colonizing the islands, a single ancestral finch species eventually diversified into 13 species of different sizes, bill shapes, and ecologies. Imagine if the distribution of that ancestral species was not limited to a small set of islands, but instead had the entire continent of South America in which to diversify! That is exactly what happened with a group of birds known commonly as the ovenbirds and woodcreepers (family Furnariidae). From a single ancestral species, there are now 326 species that differ wildly in body shape and size, feeding behavior, and nest architecture. The primary goal of the project is to use DNA sequences to reconstruct the evolutionary history of all 326 species of ovenbirds and woodcreepers. Over 97% of the ovenbird and woodcreeper species are found within South America so that an evolutionary tree of all 326 species will permit a detailed understanding of the historical processes that led to the impressive radiation.A vital component of this collaborative project between U.S., Brazilian, and Venezulean scientists is the research training it will provide. With fieldwork planned in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, young scientists from North and South America will be exposed not only to a diversity of natural environments but will also interact and forge relationships with their international peers. By working together to reconstruct perhaps the most spectacular evolutionary radiations of birds in the world, the researchers will learn how evolution works on a continental scale while training a new generation of scientists. This project has been partially supported by the Office of International Science and Engineering at NSF.