Evolution of the multivariate phenotype: phylogenetic tests of rates of size and shape evolution in salamanders

生物学家长期以来一直试图了解动物在自然界中的进化速度，以及为什么生物表现出如此惊人的形态多样性。该项目将研究两组蝾螈的形态变化速度，这两组蝾螈与环境的相互作用方式不同。将开发新的方法来测量整个生命之树的表型进化速率，并比较不同生物群体之间的速率。这些方法将允许科学家测试为什么一些群体比其他群体进化得更快的潜在解释。这个项目有助于我们理解进化的速度有多快，以及不同环境中的生物如何对这些条件做出反应。该项目的工作将使我们更好地了解生命是如何随着时间的推移而变化的，这是生物学家和其他领域的科学家非常感兴趣的。通过这个项目，还将开展几项教育外展活动，包括：一项由小型学院的学生和一所大型研究型大学的学生参加的教育研究交流活动，以及培训来自世界各地的下一代研究生和科学家的定量方法教学讲习班。

Biologists have long sought to understand how fast animals evolve in nature, and why organisms show such amazing morphological diversity. This project will study the pace of morphological change in two groups of salamanders that differ in how they interact with their environments. New methods will be developed for measuring rates of phenotypic evolution across the tree of life, and for comparing rates among groups of organisms. These methods will allow scientists to test potential explanations for why some groups evolve more rapidly than others. This project contributes to our understanding of how fast evolution occurs, and how organisms in distinct environments respond to those conditions. Work on the project will give us a better understanding of how life changes over time, which is of great interest to biologists and scientists in other fields. Through this project, several educational outreach activities will also be conducted, including: a research-in-education exchange that includes students from a small college and students attending a large research university, and teaching workshops in quantitative methods to train the next generation of graduate students and scientists from around the world.