The Herpetofauna and Associated Parasites of Mexico--A Megadiverse Country: Phase II

墨西哥的爬行动物和相关寄生虫——一个生物多样性丰富的国家：第二阶段

• 批准号: 0613802
• 负责人: John Campbell
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Arlington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-09-15 至 2012-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0613802&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Herpetofauna; Associated; Parasites; Mexico; Megadiverse

This project investigates the biodiversity of Mexico, the country with the greatest number of amphibians and reptiles in the world. A collaboration is proposed between the University of Texas at Arlington and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Participants will conduct a comprehensive survey of the amphibians, reptiles, and the parasite fauna associated with these classes. The investigators will focus their efforts on northern Mexico from the Transverse Volcanic Cordillera to the US border. Mexico is of particular biogeographical interest because it includes the transition zone between the two great faunal regions of the Western Hemisphere, the Neartic and Neotropical. It is estimated that more than 200 species of amphibians and reptiles unknown to science remain to be discovered in Mexico, and the parasites in general are extremely poorly known. The urgency for this project is more acute than for other tropical countries, for several reasons. First, human population density in Mexico has now reached the point where the last vestiges of forests are disappearing in many areas, and these forests are recognized for their extremely high biodiversity and levels of endemism. Second, the diversity of amphibians and reptiles in Mexico is higher than any other country in the world, regardless of size or location. Finally, dramatic population declines have been identified in both amphibians and reptiles; some species have already been lost and others will follow soon. The materials collected (specimens, tissue samples, digital images, recordings) during this survey will be valuable aids to persons working in many diverse disciplines of research, including systematics, ecology, and conservation.

该项目调查了墨西哥的生物多样性，墨西哥是世界上两栖动物和爬行动物数量最多的国家。德克萨斯大学阿灵顿大学与墨西哥Nacional Autonoma大学之间提出了合作。 参与者将对两栖动物，爬行动物和与这些类别相关的寄生虫动物群进行全面调查。 调查人员将把精力集中在北部的墨西哥，从横向火山山脉到美国边境。 墨西哥特别具有生物地理意义，因为它包括西半球两个大型动物区域之间的过渡区，近乎近的和新热带。 据估计，在墨西哥，有200多种两栖动物和爬行动物仍有待发现，而且寄生虫通常是鲜为人知的。 由于几个原因，该项目的紧迫性比其他热带国家更为严重。 首先，墨西哥的人口密度现在已经达到了最后的森林遗迹在许多地区消失的地步，并且这些森林因其极高的生物多样性和特有水平而被认可。 其次，无论规模或位置如何，墨西哥的两栖动物和爬行动物的多样性都比世界上任何其他国家都高。 最后，在两栖动物和爬行动物中都发现了急剧下降。一些物种已经丢失，另一些物种很快就会随之而来。在此调查中，收集的材料（标本，组织样品，数字图像，录音）将对在许多不同研究学科（包括系统学，生态学和保护）中工作的人来说是有价值的帮助。