DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics and Evolution of Neotropical Bell-Flowers (Lobelioideae)

论文研究：新热带风铃花（半边莲亚科）的系统学和进化

• 批准号: 1210401
• 负责人: Charles Davis
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-06-01 至 2015-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1210401&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Systematics; Evolution; Neotropical

The Andean mountain chains of South American are home to one-sixth of the world?s plant species, more than any other biodiversity hotspot. The 600 species of Neotropical bell-flower in the genera Centropogon, Burmeistera, and Siphocampylus represent a small fraction of this overwhelming diversity. The first goal of this project is to use DNA sequence data from both the chloroplast and nuclear genomes to reconstruct the evolutionary history of this plant group. This phylogeny will then be used to understand the evolution of Neotropical bell-flowers with respect to their ecological associates. First, patterns of morphological evolution involved in shifts between hummingbird and long-tongue bat pollination syndromes will be documented. Second, a phylogeny generated for flower mites collected from bell-flowers will be compared to the plant phylogeny to test for signals of co-diversification between host and parasite.This project will facilitate international collaboration via the participation of Latin American botanists and institutions.This project will also aid in the growth of physical museum collections, both in the US and abroad. A website that will make high-resolution digital images of the plants and the few currently published keys of groups within the clade readily available will be developed. Finally, the results of this project will be presented in publications and public and scientific talks in both English and Spanish. The inclusion of attractive plants and pollination by charismatic vertebrates, hummingbirds and bats, makes this research particularly attractive as model to teach K-12 students about evolution.

南美洲的安第斯山脉拥有世界上六分之一的植物物种，比任何其他生物多样性热点地区都多。 Centropogon、Burmeistera 和 Siphocampylus 属的 600 种新热带风铃草仅代表了这一巨大多样性的一小部分。该项目的首要目标是利用叶绿体和核基因组的 DNA 序列数据来重建该植物群的进化历史。然后，该系统发育将用于了解新热带风铃草相对于其生态伙伴的进化。首先，将记录蜂鸟和长舌蝙蝠授粉综合症之间转变所涉及的形态进化模式。其次，将从风铃草收集的花螨生成的系统发育与植物系统发育进行比较，以测试宿主和寄生虫之间共同多样化的信号。该项目将通过拉丁美洲植物学家和机构的参与促进国际合作。该项目还将有助于美国和国外实体博物馆藏品的增长。将开发一个网站，提供植物的高分辨率数字图像以及该进化枝内目前公布的少数群体的密钥。最后，该项目的结果将以英语和西班牙语发表在出版物以及公开和科学演讲中。这项研究纳入了有吸引力的植物，以及有魅力的脊椎动物、蜂鸟和蝙蝠的授粉，使得这项研究作为向 K-12 学生传授进化论的模型特别有吸引力。