RUI: Patterns of Biodiversity of Benthic Invertebrates in Chihuahuan Desert Springs

人类活动威胁着沙漠生态系统的完整性，其中许多？比如德克萨斯州西部奇瓦瓦沙漠北部和新墨西哥州东南部的泉水？可能包含大量独特的物种。不幸的是，人们对这些系统中生活在海底的无脊椎动物知之甚少。该项目将调查六个沙漠泉水系统。来自样品的生物体将被识别为已知或未描述。将建立一个可在网上访问的物种列表数据库，其中包含每个春季的数字化图像。基因条码?使用DNA测序将允许识别隐藏物种？那些看起来一模一样但实际上是不同物种的生物。多样性的地理格局也将被调查。由于这些物种中的许多可能仅限于单一的春季系统，因此该项目产生的信息将对负责保护受威胁和濒危物种的机构有用。研究人员还将测试基因条形码作为识别隐藏物种的方法的有效性。这个项目具有显著的教育价值。来自迈阿密大学汉密尔顿分校（开放招生，两年制校园）的学生将获得宝贵的研究经验。该数据库将对公众开放，并用于生物学课程。研究成果将提供给保护机构，并在科学期刊上发表。

Human activities threaten the integrity of desert ecosystems, many of which?like the springs in the northern Chihuahuan Desert of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico?probably contain large numbers of unique species. Unfortunately, little is known about the bottom-dwelling invertebrates of these systems. This project will survey six desert spring systems. Organisms from samples will be identified as known or undescribed. A web-accessible database of species lists with digitized images for each spring will be created. Genetic ?barcoding? using DNA sequencing will allow identification of cryptic species?those that appear identical but which are actually separate species. Geographic patterns in diversity also will be investigated. Because many of these species are likely limited to a single spring system, information generated by this project will be useful to agencies charged with conservation of threatened and endangered species. Researchers also will test the efficacy of genetic barcoding as a method for identifying cryptic species. This project has significant educational merit. Students from Miami University Hamilton (an open-admission, two-year campus) will gain invaluable research experience. The database will be accessible to the public and used in biology courses. Research results will be provided to conservation agencies and published in scientific journals.