Dissertation Research: Trait evolution and speciation in Encelia

该项目研究不同物种如何形成，以及为什么一些物种仅限于某些栖息地而不是其他栖息地。虽然人们普遍认为，随着时间的推移，自然选择的进化促进了对不同环境的适应，但一个物种到底是如何分裂成两个物种的，这是一个非常有争议的问题。这个过程被称为物种形成，是地球上生命多样性形成的主要方式。然而，物种形成的机制在许多方面是神秘的。这些调查将使用菊科植物的实验杂交，沿着详细的生理测量和杂交种和在其自然栖息地生长的亲本物种的实地研究，以确定自然选择如何从一个物种创造出两个物种。首先，PI将继续使用来自墨西哥和美国西南部偏远地区野外现场附近农村社区的研究助理。这些社区传统上没有得到两国科学基础设施的充分服务，并且在科学领域中少数群体的比例很高。其次，该项目将有助于对生命多样性及其形成方式的一般了解。这些研究可以帮助回答的具体问题包括：不同的种群是否应该被视为濒危物种？一个物种内的种群是进化的重要单位吗？如果进化上不同的种群被保留下来，未来会发生什么？虽然这些问题无法通过该项目直接回答，但这些调查获得的信息将为决策者提供做出明智决策所需的科学数据。

This project examines how different species form and why some species are restricted to certain habitats and not others. While it is widely accepted that evolution by natural selection promotes adaptation to different environments over time, how exactly one species splits into two is highly controversial. This process, known as speciation, is the primary way Earth's diversity of life is formed. However, the mechanisms of speciation are in many ways mysterious. These investigations will use experimental hybridization of plants in the family Asteracea, along with detailed physiological measurements and field studies of hybrids and parental species growing in their natural habitats to determine how natural selection creates two species from one.The broader impacts of this project are severalfold. First, the PIs will continue to use research assistants from rural communities near field sites in remote regions of Mexico and the southwest United States. These communities traditionally have been underserved by the scientific infrastructure of both countries and contain high proportions of minorities underrepresented in science. Secondly, this project will contribute to general knowledge of the diversity of life and how it is formed. Concrete examples of questions these studies can assist in answering include: Should different populations be considered endangered species? Are populations within a species evolutionary significant units? What will happen in the future if evolutionary different populations are preserved? While these questions cannot be directly answered by this project, the information gained by these investigations will provide policy makers with the scientific data they need to make intelligent, informed decisions.