Dissertation Research: Species delimitation and the evolution of dwarfism in the North American tarantula genus Aphonopelma

狼蛛属Aponopelma是美国西南部最臭名昭著的mygalomorph蜘蛛（狼蛛，陷阱蜘蛛和它们的亲属）之一，但它们是一个不幸的研究不足的群体，因为传统的形态特征通常在一致和严格识别物种边界方面无效。 广泛分布在整个美国西南部和墨西哥，许多Aponopelma物种居住在两个生物多样性？热点？：加州植物区系省和亚利桑那州的马德雷松栎林地。 至关重要的是，我们发现和开发方法，以准确地确定组内的物种水平的多样性之前，它是灭绝。我们的项目将整合“锚定富集”基因组数据，从高通量下一代测序，地理空间分析，以解决物种边界内Aponopelma，同时调查的小型化和随后的多样化的进化在一个非常独特的谱系矮狼蛛species.Data产生的数据将大大增加目前可用于蜘蛛物种划界的分子标记。 这将是第一个在任何蜘蛛群体中采用这种尖端基因组方法的研究。项目活动将提供现代系统发育和生物信息学技术，分类学和生物专业知识的本科生从科学代表性不足的群体的培训，同时扩大与墨西哥和世界其他地区的研究生的国际合作。

The tarantula genus Aphonopelma ranks among the most infamous mygalomorph spiders (tarantulas, trapdoor spiders and their kin) of the American southwest, yet they are a group that has been woefully understudied because traditional morphological characters are generally ineffective at consistently and rigorously identifying species boundaries. Widely distributed throughout the southwestern United States and Mexico, many Aphonopelma species reside within two biodiversity ?hotspots?: the California Floristic Province and the Madrean pine-oak woodlands in Arizona. It is of critical importance that we discover and develop methods to accurately identify the species-level diversity within the group before it is lost to extinction. Our project will integrate "Anchored Enrichment" genomic data, from high-throughput next-generation sequencing, with geospatial analyses to resolve species boundaries within Aphonopelma, while investigating the evolution of miniaturization and subsequent diversification in a very unique lineage of dwarf tarantula species.Data generated from this project will substantially increase the molecular markers currently available for species delimitation in spiders. This will be the first study to employ this cutting edge genomic approach in any spider group. Project activities will provide training in modern phylogenetic and bioinformatics techniques, taxonomic, and organismal expertise to undergraduates from underrepresented groups in science, while broadening international collaboration with graduate students in Mexico and other parts of the world.