Collaborative Research: Layers of adaptive radiation in Anolis lizards: Investigation of previously unexplored ecological and taxonomic diversity

最后修改日期：07/10/09最后修改人：Maureen M.科尔尼 该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。为什么有这么多种类的动物？在不同的动物群体中，进化多样化倾向于遵循相似的轨迹吗？我们的工作解决了这两个问题，使用的DNA序列数据，实验室实验，并在一个物种丰富的蜥蜴组的实地研究的综合分析。我们工作的一个主要目标是使用DNA序列数据来重建反映物种之间关系的树。然后，我们将使用这棵树来追溯生态和形态多样化的历史，特别关注这一历史的某些方面是否会被其他动物群体所重复。我们的工作将雇用五个全职人员，包括四名研究生和一名博士后学者。将向所有这些参与者提供先进实验室和实地技术方面的指导和培训。我们的小组？的工作将导致一个最大的和最多样化的DNA序列数据的汇编有史以来为一组相关的物种。为分析该数据集而开发的系统发育和统计方法以及从这些分析中吸取的教训将直接适用于其他生物的类似研究，包括具有医学，农业或保护意义的生物

Last Modified Date: 07/10/09 Last Modified By: Maureen M. Kearney Abstract This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Why are there so many kinds of animals? Does evolutionary diversification tend to follow a similar trajectory in different groups of animals? Our work addresses both of these questions using an integrated analysis of DNA sequence data, laboratory experiments, and field studies of a species rich group of lizards. A primary goal of our work is to use DNA sequence data to reconstruct a tree reflecting relationships among species. We will then use this tree to retrace the history of ecological and morphological diversification, focusing in particular on whether aspects of this history are repeated by other groups of animals. Our work will employ five persons full-time, including four graduate students and one post-doctoral scholar. Mentorship and training in advanced laboratory and field techniques will be provided to all of these participants. Our group?s work will result in one of the largest and most diverse compilations of DNA sequence data ever assembled for a group of related species. The phylogenetic and statistical methods developed to analyze this dataset and the lessons learned from these analyses will be directly applicable to similar studies of other organisms, including those with medical, agricultural, or conservation significance