RUI: Evolution of the Endemic Lizard Fauna of New Caledonia

RUI：新喀里多尼亚特有蜥蜴动物群的进化

• 批准号: 0108108
• 负责人: Aaron Bauer
• 金额: $ 32.77万
• 依托单位: Villanova University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-09-01 至 2004-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0108108&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Evolution; Endemic; Lizard; Fauna

New Caledonia is an ancient island in the South Pacific that supports ahighly endemic terrestrial biota. Among vertebrates, lizards are particularly diverse (~ 20 genera). The evolutionary history of the endemic New Caledonian lizards will be reconstructed in order to evaluate how events over the last 80 million years have interacted to yield high biodiversity in a small insular setting. Drs. Bauer and Jackman at Villanova University will reconstruct phylogenies for all New Caledonian lizards based on a combined data set of morphological and molecular characters (DNA sequences). Phylogenies will be used to erect hypotheses about the geographic distributions of the organisms through time. A molecular clock will be invoked to distinguish between older lineage splits associated with the fragmentation of New Caledonia from Australia in the Late Cretaceous and qualitatively later divisions indicative of over-water dispersal. The historical biogeography of New Caledonia will be examined by combining phylogenetic information from reptiles with that from other organisms showing similar patterns of diversification within the island. Regions of congruent distribution of these taxa will be recognized as areas of endemism that will be analyzed using several current analytical biogeographic approaches. This research will provide a robust phylogenetic background for subsequent studies of the evolutionary morphology and ecology of the NewCaledonian lizards and will serve as the foundation for more detailed and sophisticated biogeographic studies of this biodiversity hotspot. The DNA sequence data collected will be made available for the use of other researchers, and museum material will be deposited in collections in the United States, Australia, and France for future studies. The project will promote international research cooperation (United States, Australia and New Caledonia [a French territory]) and will foster the professional development of undergraduates and a postdoctoral associate, as well as strengthen the research environment at a primarily undergraduate institution.

新喀里多尼亚是南太平洋的一个古老岛屿，拥有高度特有的陆地生物群。在脊椎动物中，蜥蜴的种类尤其丰富（约 20 个属）。我们将重建新喀里多尼亚特有蜥蜴的进化史，以评估过去 8000 万年的事件如何相互作用，从而在小型岛屿环境中产生高度的生物多样性。博士。维拉诺瓦大学的鲍尔和杰克曼将根据形态和分子特征（DNA 序列）的组合数据集重建所有新喀里多尼亚蜥蜴的系统发育。系统发育将用于建立关于生物体随时间的地理分布的假设。将利用分子钟来区分与白垩纪晚期新喀里多尼亚从澳大利亚分裂相关的较古老的谱系分裂和表明水上传播的后期定性分裂。新喀里多尼亚的历史生物地理学将通过将爬行动物的系统发育信息与岛上显示出类似多样化模式的其他生物体的系统发育信息结合起来进行研究。这些类群的一致分布区域将被视为特有区域，将使用几种当前的分析生物地理学方法进行分析。这项研究将为后续新喀里多尼亚蜥蜴的进化形态和生态学研究提供坚实的系统发育背景，并将为该生物多样性热点地区更详细、更复杂的生物地理学研究奠定基础。收集到的 DNA 序列数据将可供其他研究人员使用，博物馆材料将存放在美国、澳大利亚和法国的馆藏中，以供未来研究。该项目将促进国际研究合作（美国、澳大利亚和新喀里多尼亚[法国领土]），促进本科生和博士后的专业发展，并加强本科机构的研究环境。