Collaborative Research: Phylogeography, Ecology and Reproductive Isolation in the Fundulus Notatus Complex

生物学中最大的挑战之一是解释物种多样性的水平和模式。杂交区是密切相关的物种共生和杂交的地方，为研究产生和维持物种多样性的过程提供了理想的环境。这项研究将结合现场观察、对照实验室实验和现代分子工具来解决关于观察到的三种尖吻鱼在不同物种复合体中的分布格局的基本问题。在美国中西部和南部，这些物种在许多杂交区相遇，使它们成为理想的研究群体。拟议的研究将全面探讨F.notatus物种群体的进化史，并将增加我们对进化和生态过程在产生和维持我们今天观察到的物种多样性方面所起的作用的理解。此外，这项研究具有重要的保护意义，并将引起各州机构的兴趣。该研究计划将通过让本科生和研究生参与两所不同大学的研究事业来整合教学和研究。积极参与研究的人员将参与现有的外联计划，旨在招募代表人数不足的群体进入科学界，并提高预科学生的科学素养。

One of the greatest challenges in biology is to explain the levels and patterns of speciesdiversity. Hybrid zones, where closely related species co-occur and hybridize, providean ideal setting in which to study the processes that generate and maintain speciesdiversity. This research will combine field observations, controlled laboratoryexperiments and modern molecular tools to address fundamental questions regardingthe distributional patterns observed among three topminnow species in the Fundulusnotatus species complex. Throughout the Midwestern and Southern United States, thespecies encounter one another in numerous hybrid zones, making them an ideal groupfor study.The proposed research will comprehensively address the evolutionary history of the F.notatus species group and will increase our understanding of the role evolutionary andecological processes play in producing and maintaining the species diversity weobserve today. Moreover, this research has important conservation implications and willbe of interest to various state agencies. The research program will integrate teachingand research by involving undergraduate and graduate students in the researchenterprise at the two diverse universities. Personnel active in the research willparticipate in existing outreach programs aimed at recruiting underrepresented groupsinto the sciences and improving science literacy in pre-collegiate students.