DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Molecular phylogeny and Biogeography of a highly diverse genus of Andean butterflies

热带的安第斯山脉拥有地球上一些最高水平的生物多样性，包括不同种类的蝴蝶。这个项目将使用DNA序列数据来产生蝴蝶属Catasticta物种的进化关系假说。斑蝶有96多个物种，是安第斯山脉辐射最大的蝴蝶之一，系统发育将被用来研究这些蝴蝶的关系、物种形成模式和分布等关键问题。这笔赠款将使人们能够从绝大多数物种中收集DNA序列数据，并将允许访问重要的Catasticta自然历史收藏，以汇编必要的分布数据。该项目将对地质历史和当代环境在理解热带安第斯山脉中的作用提供新的见解。特别高的物种多样性。该项目将为任何新热带蝴蝶属生成最多样化的物种水平系统发育图，并将其与分布图一起提供给研究热带山地鳞翅目生物地理学的研究人员。该项目还将极大地加强联合PI的研究经验，项目成果将通过科学文章和通俗文章广泛传播。

The tropical Andes mountains have some of the highest levels of biological diversity on the planet, including diverse groups of butterflies. This project will use DNA sequence data to produce a hypothesis of evolutionary relationships for species of the butterfly genus Catasticta. With more than 96 species, Catasticta is one of the largest Andean butterfly radiations, and the phylogeny will be used to investigate key questions about the relationships, patterns of speciation, and distribution of these butterflies. This grant will enable DNA sequence data to be gathered from the great majority of species and will allow visits to important Catasticta natural history collections to compile the necessary distribution data. The project will provide new insights into the role of geological history and contemporary environment in understanding the tropical Andes? exceptionally high species diversity. The project will generate the most diverse species-level phylogeny for any Neotropical butterfly genus, and make this available, along with distribution maps, to researchers studying biogeography in tropical montane Lepidoptera. The project will also significantly enhance the research experience of the co-PI, and project results will be broadly disseminated through both scientific and popular articles.