Southeast Asian pholcid spiders: diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and multiple convergent shifts among microhabitats

Pholcid蜘蛛是最多样化的蜘蛛家族之一，但它们主要分布在热带地区，缺乏专家，长期以来阻碍了对该群体的了解。过去15年的集中努力极大地改善了这种情况，但东南亚分类群仍然是一个主要的知识空白。本项目旨在缩小这一差距，并集中在三个主要问题，除了分类学：（1）如何东南亚分类群适合Pholomaceae的系统发育？(2)多样性和分布模式与新大陆和非洲地区的模式是否相似？(3)是否有证据表明微生境和物种多样性（适应性物种形成）之间的进化变化之间存在因果关系？主要为被认为是成功完成该项目的先决条件的四个项目寻求资金：（1）为收集DNA准备标本和关于微生境和多样性的数据进行考察;（2）分子工作的消耗品;（3）为博士生进行基本分子工作和对特定分类群进行分类处理;（4）为研究人员提供资金。（4）一名墨卡托研究员（Dimitar Dimitrov博士）在分子生物学和适应性物种形成分析方面进行密切合作。

Pholcid spiders are among the most diverse spider families but their mainly tropical distribution and lack of specialists have long hampered knowledge about the group. A concentrated effort over the last 15 years has dramatically improved the situation but Southeast Asian taxa remain a major gap of knowledge. The present project aims at closing this gap and focuses, apart from the taxonomy, on three major questions: (1) how do Southeast Asian taxa fit into the phylogeny of Pholcidae? (2) Are patterns of diversity and distribution comparable to those in New World and African regions? (3) Is there evidence for a causal relationship between evolutionary shifts among microhabitats and species diversity (adaptive speciation)? Funding is sought mainly for four items that are considered prerequisites for a successful completion of this project: (1) for expeditions to collect DNA-ready specimens and data about microhabitat and diversity; (2) for consumables for molecular work; (3) for a PhD student to do fundamental molecular work and taxonomic treatment of specific taxa; (4) for a Mercator Fellow (Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov) to work in close cooperation on the molecular phylogeny and on the analyses on adaptive speciation.