COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Historical Demography and Diversity of a Tropical Rainforest Fauna

合作研究：热带雨林动物群的历史人口学和多样性

• 批准号: 0416250
• 负责人: Craig Moritz
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-08-15 至 2008-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0416250&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: COLLABORATIVE; RESEARCH; Historical; Demography; Diversity

Why do some places have more species than others? What causes one place to have a different set of species to another? These questions have fascinated biologists for decades and it seems that both current interactions and evolutionary history play a role. This project combines evidence on paleo-ecology, genetic and community diversity to examine the effects of Pleistocene climate change on the frogs and lizards species of the tropical rainforests of north-eastern Australia. Previous research has shown that these rainforests contracted under cold, dry periods of the late Pleistocene and that the rainforest-dependent vertebrates underwent range changes and extinctions at varying scales. It is predicted that species most restricted to montane rainforests and with the narrowest current climatic range have been the most sensitive to rainforest fluctuations. This hypothesis will be tested using a combination of molecular evidence, species' distribution data and ecological modeling and with particular attention to three guilds - stream-breeding frogs, terrestrial-breeding microhylid frogs and forest-floor skinks. By showing how individual species responded to past climate change, the project will shed light on why rainforest communities have so many species and vary so much from place to place. By increasing our understanding of how history and current ecology interact, the results will improve prediction of biodiversity in other diverse, but less well known tropical biotas. As these and other montane species are expected to be threatened by global warming, knowing which taxa were sensitive to past climate change and why will help to form plans for conservation.

为什么某些地方的物种比其他物种更多？ 是什么原因导致一个地方拥有不同的物种？ 这些问题使生物学家着迷了数十年，而且目前的互动和进化史似乎都起着作用。该项目结合了有关古生物学，遗传和社区多样性的证据，以研究更新世气候变化对澳大利亚东北部热带雨林的青蛙和蜥蜴的影响。 先前的研究表明，这些雨林在晚期更新世的寒冷干旱时期收缩，依赖雨林的脊椎动物在不同尺度上发生了范围的变化和灭绝。据预测，最限于山地雨林和当前气候最狭窄的物种对雨林波动最敏感。该假设将通过分子证据，物种分布数据和生态建模以及特别注意三个公会的组合进行检验 - 溪流繁殖的青蛙，陆生繁殖的微晶蛙蛙和森林层的滑冰。通过展示各个物种如何应对过去的气候变化，该项目将阐明为什么雨林社区拥有如此多的物种，并且在地方到处都有很大不同。通过我们对历史和当前生态相互作用的相互作用的了解，结果将改善对其他多种多样但鲜为人知的热带生物群体中生物多样性的预测。 由于这些物种和其他山地物种被预计会受到全球变暖的威胁，因此知道哪个分类单元对过去的气候变化很敏感，为什么会帮助制定保护计划。