A macroevolutionary framework to study the assembly of continental biotas

有些生物群，如甲虫，包含了数量惊人的物种，但大多数生物群包含的物种要少得多。同样，一些动物和植物群体在形式和功能上表现出戏剧性的差异，但许多其他群体的物种如此相似，以至于只有专家才能区分它们。这种群体间多样性的差异是生物学中最引人注目的模式之一，但其原因仍不清楚。这项拟议的研究将开发新的数学、统计和基于计算机的工具，以帮助科学家解释为什么不同种类的生物体之间的生物多样性差异如此巨大。新方法将应用于许多动物群体，为了解塑造地球生命多样性的历史过程提供了一个高分辨率窗口。该项目将创建统计方法和计算机软件，使研究人员能够使用活物种的基因数据来研究数百万年来发生的复杂过程。这些方法工具将被优化用于分析海量数据集，从而补充NSF最近重建和分析所有活着物种之间的关系的倡议。该项目将建立一个国际合作网络，并将通过研讨会和辅导为本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员提供计算和数量生物学方面的广泛培训。

Some groups of organisms, like beetles, contain incredible numbers of species, but most groups contain far fewer species. Likewise, some groups of animals and plants show dramatic variation in form and function, yet species in many other groups are so similar that only experts can tell them apart. This variation in diversity among groups is one of the most striking patterns in biology, yet its causes are still not understood. The proposed research will develop new mathematical, statistical, and computer-based tools to help scientists explain why biological diversity varies so dramatically among different kinds of organisms. The new methods will be applied to a number of animal groups, providing a high-resolution window into the historical processes that have shaped the diversity of life on Earth.The project will create statistical methods and computer software that will enable researchers to study complex processes that have occurred over millions of years using genetic data from living species. The methodological tools will be optimized for the analysis of massive datasets, thus complementing recent NSF initiatives to reconstruct and analyze the relationships between all living species. The project will establish an international collaborative network and will provide extensive training in computational and quantitative biology for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers through workshops and mentoring.