Investigating how evolution of mate recognition traits drives speciation within an anuran ring species

物种的区别是什么？这个问题听起来很简单，但对许多动物来说，答案可能很复杂。非洲青蛙的新物种和亚种每年都有描述，但在许多情况下，没有足够的信息来了解这些新发现的实体可能有多独特。本研究旨在研究Hyperolius viridiflavus青蛙群的物种形成过程，该青蛙群由大约60个命名物种和亚种的复杂混合物组成，它们具有跨越撒哈拉以南非洲的明亮色彩。100多年来，科学家们一直在努力了解有多少不同的物种包含在Hyperolius viridiflavus的全面识别中。从历史上看，物种在很大程度上是通过颜色和地理分布的差异来识别的;然而，新的基因组数据表明，我们经常用来区分物种的物理线索可能并不总是正确的，甚至可能导致对物种真实数量的低估或高估。该项目使用创新的基因组资源来解决一个世纪之久的难题，并提供对物种形成过程的见解。对这一群体中物种数量和分布的新澄清也将有助于保护工作，因为如果没有准确估计存在多少物种以及它们位于何处，旨在保护独特生物多样性的政策就无效。本研究的目的是评估在Hyperolius viridiflavus物种复合体中的物种形成的驱动因素和基因组学。基因组规模的数据，在约60个已知的物种和亚种将允许准确估计谱系分歧，形成的基础上比较性状变异在这个分支。目前的谱系被认为是主要的颜色差异，呼叫变化和地理分布，但这些特征和遗传分化之间的关系是未知的。初步数据显示，这个分支是相对年轻的，主要是在低地和潜在的连续地区，但有特殊的多样化相比，其他共同分布的Hyperolius物种。这种主要在夜间活动的血统的明亮颜色可能在真正的快速物种形成中发挥作用，或者可能由于人类的偏见而过度夸大科学对分歧的估计。这项研究的结果将有助于了解多样化是如何发生的，而没有外部障碍的基因流，同时澄清哪些物种特异性特征有助于物种识别，影响一个迅速分化的血统的进化命运。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

What differentiates species? This question may sound straightforward, but for many animals the answer can be complex. New species and subspecies of African frogs are described every year, but in many cases there is not enough information to understand how distinct and unique these newly-discovered entities might be. This research aims to study the process of speciation in the Hyperolius viridiflavus group of frogs consisting of a complex mix of approximately 60 named species and subspecies with bright coloration spanning sub-Saharan Africa. For more than 100 years, scientists have struggled to understand how many distinct species are contained within the catch-all identification of Hyperolius viridiflavus. Historically, species were largely recognized by differences in coloring and geographic distribution; however, new genomic data indicate that the physical cues we often use to distinguish species may not always be correct and may even result in under- or over-counting the true numbers of species. This project uses innovative genomic resources to address a century-old puzzle and provide insights into the process of speciation. The new clarification on the number and distribution of species within this group will also aid conservation efforts, as policies aimed toward protecting unique biodiversity are ineffective without an accurate estimate of how many species exist and where they are located. The goals of this study are to evaluate phylogenomics and the drivers of speciation in the Hyperolius viridiflavus species complex. Genomic scale data across the ~60 known species and subspecies will allow accurate estimation of lineage divergence, forming the basis for comparisons of trait variation across this clade. Current lineages are recognized primary on coloration differences, call variation, and geographic distributions, but relationships between these traits and genetic divergence are unknown. Preliminary data show that this clade is relatively young, and is primarily in lowland and potentially continuous areas, yet has exceptional diversification compared to other co-distributed Hyperolius species. The bright coloration of this largely nocturnal lineage may play a role in true rapid speciation, or could overinflate scientific estimations of divergence due to human biases. Results from this study will help inform how diversification occurs without external barriers to gene flow while clarifying which species-specific traits contribute to species recognition, influencing the evolutionary fate of a rapidly diverging lineage.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.