Collaborative Research: The role of isolation in species diversification; insights into dispersal and evolution of endemic Lotus from the California Channel Islands

合作研究：隔离在物种多样化中的作用；

• 批准号: 0842161
• 负责人: Lisa Wallace
• 金额: $ 9.98万
• 依托单位: Mississippi State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-03-01 至 2013-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0842161&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; role; isolation; species

Understanding the mechanisms that lead to the origin of new species is a primary goal of evolutionary biology. Although new species have traditionally been viewed as originating in isolation from close relatives, recent data suggest that unique evolutionary entities can diverge even with high levels of gene flow. Although both genetic and ecological factors contribute to divergence of new taxa, the balance and roles of connectivity and isolation in diverging populations remain poorly understood. This project uses molecular genetic, ecological, and morphological data to understand patterns of divergence resulting from the balance between isolation and interbreeding in many populations of two endemic Lotus species in the California Channel Islands. These islands are close to each other and mainland California, but contain many unique species not found on the mainland. This project contributes to the documentation of biodiversity and understanding of the underlying processes that generate new species. Such understanding is needed for effective conservation and management of biological diversity and the ecosystem services it supports. This study will clarify how natural processes influence connectivity and divergence in ecological communities of islands, with applications also to similar continental regions. The research also offers interdisciplinary research training for many undergraduate and graduate students and significant outreach to agencies and NGOs that are charged with conservation and management of biodiversity.

了解导致新物种起源的机制是进化生物学的主要目标。尽管传统上将新物种视为与近亲隔离为孤立的，但最近的数据表明，即使基因流量很高，独特的进化实体也可以发散。尽管遗传和生态因素均导致新分类单元的分歧，但连通性和隔离在不同人群中的平衡和作用仍然很少了解。该项目使用分子遗传，生态和形态学数据来理解加利福尼亚通道群岛的两个特有莲花物种的隔离与繁殖之间的平衡引起的分歧模式。这些岛屿彼此接近，加利福尼亚大陆，但大陆上没有许多独特的物种。该项目有助于生物多样性的记录以及对产生新物种的基本过程的理解。需要这样的理解来有效地保护和管理生物多样性及其支持的生态系统服务。这项研究将阐明自然过程如何影响岛屿生态社区的连通性和差异，并应用于类似的大陆地区。这项研究还为许多本科生和研究生提供了跨学科的研究培训，并为负责保护和管理生物多样性的机构和非政府组织提供了重要的宣传。