Understanding the diversity of life: trait correlations from micro- to macroevolutionary scales

项目名称：了解导致生物多样性在很长一段时间内的机制是进化生物学最重要的基础之一。然而，当我们观察生命的巨大多样性时，我们可以看到一些令人惊讶的清晰模式。生物多样性在整个生命之树中并不是均匀分布的。这表明，产生多样性的过程受到限制：一些谱系经历的特征进化和多样化的速度与其他谱系不同，物种的数量及其形式和功能的多样性受到限制。这清楚地表明了进化的遗传、生态、发育或生理限制。这些限制可能是特定分类群或跨分类群的，表明在更高的分类学水平上的一般限制。解决驱动这些模式的机制将大大提高我们对决定生命多样性的过程的理解。博士学位的总体目标是测试性状之间的相关性如何在多个尺度（种内，内枝和间枝）演变，以塑造生命树中性状和物种的多样性。具体来说，第一个目标是测试性状相关性随时间的稳定性。表型性状相关性的稳定性可能具有重要的宏观进化后果，例如通过限制分支内和分支之间的潜在总表型多样性（即它们的差异）。第二个目标是测试相关性的变化如何约束（i）谱系之间的差异和（ii）物种多样性。

Project description : Understanding the mechanisms that lead to biological diversity over long periods of time is one of the most important underpinnings of evolutionary biology. However, when we look at the immense diversity of life we can see several clear patterns that are surprising. Diversity is not evenly distributed across the tree of life. This suggests that the processes generating diversity are constrained: some lineages experience different rates of trait evolution and diversification than others and there are constraints on the numbers of species and on their variety of form and function. This clearly suggests genetic, ecological, developmental, or physiological limits on evolution. These constraints may be taxon specific or cut across taxa, suggesting general limits at higher taxonomic levels. Resolving the mechanisms driving these patterns will dramatically improve our understanding of the processes that determine the diversity of life.The overall objective of the PhD is to test how correlations among traits evolve at multiple scales (intraspecific, intraclade and interclade) to shape the diversity of traits and species across the tree of life. Specifically, the first objective is to test the stability of trait correlations through time. The stability of phenotypic trait correlations may have important macroevolutionary consequences, for example by constraining the potential total phenotypic diversity within and among clades (i.e. their disparity). The second objective is to test how variation in correlations constrains (i) disparity and (ii) diversity of species among lineages.