US - Tanzania Dissertation Enhancement: Does climate change drive population divergence in African highlands? Investigations through spatially explicit paleoclimate analyses

根据这一博士论文增强项目，露辛达劳森女士将在坦桑尼亚进行进一步研究，探索非洲芦苇蛙种群内部和种群之间的遗传变异，并结合空间分布和景观特征，以了解产生所观察到的变异模式的生物和进化过程。该项目调查了三个共同发生的山地成员的Hyperolius，这有一个地方性的多样性在这些山区的群体遗传学。初步结果表明，人口在整个这一地区表现出显着的结构，具有明显的模式向北殖民，可能减轻气候周期。东弧山是国际生物多样性保护组织的热点地区，拥有丰富多样的两栖动物，几乎所有的两栖动物都是这个小地区的特有物种。劳森将采样地点预测的生物气候模型在迪瓦地理信息系统从并系？休息区？单倍型之间。她还将通过马拉维的高地扩展这项工作，以抽样人口被认为是所有东弧人口的外群体。 在此期间，劳森将与W。Ngalason（坦桑尼亚博士生）在达累斯萨拉姆大学实地和收集的东弧两栖动物的海拔模式，并将与东非山地爬行动物工作组进行未充分研究的山区调查工作，她和W。Ngalason是会员。这项研究将是第一个联合收割机的生态和系统发育信息的一个属的非洲青蛙，以评估历史上的栖息地碎片化对人口的影响。该系统非常适合将气候/景观建模和尖端分子技术相结合，以研究有助于在一个鲜为人知的，巨大多样性和受威胁的系统中形成变化的进化过程。这些研究对保护规划具有重要意义。该研究计划非常注重与坦桑尼亚当地研究人员和学生合作，提供采样，监测技术和种群遗传学方面的培训。在坦桑尼亚，农业用地的压力、森林的大规模砍伐和其他活动大大减少了这一热带地区现有的山地生境，发展当地对监测和保护的强有力参与是保持这一系统活力的关键。虽然这项研究的主要重点是提高我们的理解的动态？超人口在一个自然分散的景观中，研究人员也在收集有关社区的信息以及分布，生态和行为数据。这项工作完成后，所有由此产生的科学论文将提交给坦桑尼亚研究理事会（COSTECH）和坦桑尼亚野生动物部（TAWIRI），根据收集许可证的规定，并在美国期刊和非洲期刊上发表，以便最需要的研究人员能够获得这些发现。在伊利诺斯州，劳森在菲尔德博物馆为小学和高中的孩子和团体做了关于进化、气候变化和保护以及两栖动物减少的演讲。这项研究计划将扩展到包括通过伊利诺伊州数学科学院和芝加哥大学本科生的学生导师项目将被纳入遗传模式和建模过程的分析，提供了一个宝贵的研究经验，未来潜在的进化和保护生物学家。

Under this Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement Project, Ms. Lucinda Lawson will conduct further research in Tanzania in the exploration of genetic variation within and between populations of African reed frogs and incorporates spatial distribution and landscape characteristics to understand the biological and evolutionary processes that have produced the observed patterns of variation. This project investigates the population genetics of three co-occurring montane members of the genus Hyperolius, which have an endemic diversification within these mountains. Preliminary results indicate that populations show significant structure throughout this area, with a clear pattern of Northward colonization, potentially mitigated by climate cycles. The Eastern Arc Mountains are a Conservation International Biodiversity Hot Spot, with a substantial diversity of amphibians, almost all of which are endemic to this tiny area. Lawson will sample localities predicted by bioclim models in Diva-GIS from the paraphyletic ?break zone? between haplotypes. She will also extend this work through the highlands of Malawi to sample populations thought to be outgroups to all Eastern Arc populations. During this time Lawson will be working with W. Ngalason (Tanzanian PhD student) on elevational patterns of Eastern Arc amphibians in the field and in the collections at the University of Dar es Salaam, and will conduct survey work of understudied mountains with the East African Montane Herpetology working group, of which she and W. Ngalason are members. This study will be one of the first to combine ecological and phylogenetic information for a genus of African frogs to assess the effects of historic habitat fragmentation on populations. This system is ideal for combining climatic/landscape modeling and cutting-edge molecular techniques to investigate the evolutionary processes that helped shape variation in a poorly known, megadiverse and threatened system. Such studies have important implications for conservation planning.This research program has a strong focus on working with local Tanzanian researchers and students, providing training in sampling, monitoring techniques, and population genetics. Pressure for agricultural lands, extensive logging of forests and other activities in Tanzania have drastically reduced the available montane habitat in this tropical region and developing a strong local involvement in monitoring and conservation is the key to keeping this system alive. Though the primary focus of this study is to enhance our understanding of the dynamics of a ?meta-population? in a naturally fragmented landscape, the researchers are also collecting information on communities as well as distributional, ecological, and behavioral data. Upon completion of this work, all resulting scientific papers will be submitted to the Tanzanian research council (COSTECH) and the Tanzanian Wildlife Department (TAWIRI), as dictated by collection permits and published in both US journals and African Journals to allow access to these findings for the researchers who need them most. In Illinois, Lawson has given talks on evolution, climate change and conservation, and amphibian declines to grade and high school children and groups at the Field Museum. This research program will be extended to include a student mentorship project through the Illinois Math & Science Academy and University of Chicago undergraduates will be incorporated in the analysis of genetic patterns and modeling of processes, providing a valuable research experience to potential future evolutionary and conservation biologists.