Molecular phylogeny and speciation in a regional fauna

我的研究计划的目标是：(I)记录自然种群内部和之间进化分化的模式，(Ii)检验关于生物多样性从独特种群到物种起源的假说，以及(Iii)将这种理解应用于生物多样性的保护。用于解决进化生物学中这些关键问题的模型是北美西北部的鱼类，包括：被隔离在不同冰川庇护所的进化谱系(刺鱼、鲑鱼和刺鱼)；通过物理地形表现出不同程度物理分离的种群(例如，迁徙障碍、分水岭、鲑鱼和刺鱼)或生态(适应鲑鱼和刺鱼的不同栖息地)；以及冰川后接触过的密切相关鱼类的物种(刺鱼和刺鱼)。这一研究计划的新颖方面包括：在分歧中整合历史和当代的过程，在旧的(例如，Charr)和最近的(例如，刺鱼)分歧中对这些过程进行比较分析，以及在假设检验中整合分子和生态方法。例如，分子系统学、种群遗传学和生态学方法都被整合到对北美西北部两只斑点多利·瓦尔登和牛鲑鱼之间接触区形成的历史因素的研究中，以及决定接触区当前遗传结构的过程。这项工作以及与刺鱼有关的工作的意义包括了解影响种群内和种群间遗传变异的过程(如自然选择、遗传漂移和基因流动之间的相互作用)，以及促进新物种进化的生态和遗传过程。最普遍的是，所有这些影响都与帮助理解生物多样性的起源高度相关--这是进化生物学的基本目标，也是保护生物多样性的必要先决条件。我们的工作对于培养加拿大急需的领域的年轻科学家也很重要--水生和分子生态学以及生物多样性研究。

The goals of my research program are to: (i) document the patterns of evolutionary divergence within andamong natural populations, (ii) test hypotheses concerning the origins of biodiversity from unique populationsto species, and (iii) apply such understanding to the conservation of biodiversity. The models used to addressthese key questions in evolutionary biology are fishes of northwestern North America, including: evolutionarylineages that were isolated in distinct glacial refugia (sticklebacks, trout, and char); populations that showvarious degrees of physical separation via physical landform (e.g., migration barriers, watershedinterconnectedness in trout, char, and grayling) or ecology (adaptation to distinct habitats in trout andsticklebacks); and species of closely related fishes that have come into contact (char and sticklebacks)postglacially. The novel aspects of this research program include: integration of historical and contemporaryprocesses in divergence, comparative analyses of these processes in old (e.g., char) and more recent (e.g.,sticklebacks) divergences, and the integration of molecular and ecological methods in hypothesis testing. Forinstance, molecular phylogenetic, population genetic, and ecological methods have all been integrated into thestudy of the historical factors that were involved in the formation of a contact zone between two char, DollyVarden and bull trout, in northwestern North America, and the processes that determine the current geneticstructure of the contact zone. The significance of this work, and related work on sticklebacks, includesunderstanding the processes (such as the interactions among natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow)that influence genetic variation within and between populations, and the ecological and genetic processes thatpromote the evolution of new species. Most generally, all of these impacts are highly relevant to helping tounderstand the origins of biodiversity - a fundamental goal of evolutionary biology as well as a necessarypre-requisite to the conservation of biodiversity. Our work is also important for the training of young scientistsin areas of great need for Canada - aquatic and molecular ecology and biodiversity research.