NSFDEB-NERC: Origins and expansion of endemic biodiversity in western Melanesia and their relation to tectonic evolution

这个项目解决了一个基本的研究问题，即地质作用如何推动物种的多样化和目前的生物多样性模式。该项目将把重点放在美拉尼西亚西部，这是地球上生物多样性最丰富的地区之一，也是一个构造活动高度活跃的地区。几个动物群体的生物和地质模型的综合将在该区域地质历史的背景下阐明殖民的时机和程度以及生物多样性的多样化。这些结果将促进我们对构造运动对物种产生和传播的影响的理解。这项研究是与英国自然环境研究委员会(NERC)合作资助的，这是美国和英国实验室之间的国际合作。该项目将支持对研究生和博士后学者的培训，以及在巴布亚新几内亚的协作培训和外联活动。研究小组将为超过25种爬行动物和两栖动物谱系构建过时的系统发育树，这些谱系代表了西美拉尼西亚五个主要大陆的不同扩散能力、起源时间和自然历史。将确定和追踪每个群体的原产地和时间，以解释它们向新地区扩张的细节。将创建更新的地质模型，并将阐明推动该地区物种形成和扩散的构造事件。这项研究将测试太平洋生物多样性分布起源和维持的相互竞争的模型。这一结果将广泛用于研究具有复杂构造历史和动力学的地区的生物地理演化。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project addresses a fundamental research question regarding how geological processes drive the diversification of species and current patterns of biodiversity. The project will focus on western Melanesia, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth as well as a region of high tectonic activity. A synthesis of biological and geological models for several animal groups will clarify the timing and extent of colonization and diversification of biotic diversity within the context of the region’s geologic history. The results will advance our understanding of the effects of tectonic movements on the generation and dispersal of species. The research is funded in partnership with the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) as an international collaboration between U.S. and U.K. laboratories. The project will support the training of graduate and postdoctoral scholars, as well as collaborative training and outreach activities in Papua Guinea. The research team will construct dated phylogenetic trees for over 25 reptile and amphibian lineages representing different dispersal abilities, times of origin, and natural histories that span the five major landmasses of western Melanesia. Areas and times of origin for each group will be identified and traced to explain details of their expansion to new regions. Updated geological models will be created and will illuminate tectonic events that drove speciation and dispersal in the region. This research will test competing models for the origins and maintenance of Pacific biodiversity distributions. The results will be broadly useful as a model for investigating biogeographic evolution in regions with complex tectonic histories and dynamics.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.