Collaborative Research: Discovery and analysis in the cradle of speciation theory: biotic surveys of Melanesia's terrestrial vertebrates

合作研究：物种形成理论摇篮的发现和分析：美拉尼西亚陆生脊椎动物的生物调查

• 批准号: 1557051
• 负责人: Michael Andersen
• 金额: $ 34.88万
• 依托单位: University of New Mexico
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-15 至 2023-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1557051&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Discovery; analysis; cradle

Land animals of Southwest Pacific island chains exhibit unique patterns of diversification. Explanations for these patterns have influenced the fields of ecology and evolution, yet the processes that produced these patterns are little studied. Furthermore, few scientists have visited many of the more remote and rugged parts of this island region, and animals in these areas are poorly known. This project contains two major components: (1) fieldwork to survey vertebrate communities (birds, frogs, lizards, snakes and mammals) and collect specimen material across the diverse biological communities of the Southwest Pacific; and (2) laboratory-based genetic analysis to study the evolutionary history of these animal groups as well as contemporary interactions among island populations. Field and laboratory work will enable the description of new species, redefine patterns of biodiversity, and provide much-needed comparative material for world-class global collections. Importantly, training and education of US university students is integrated throughout this work. US undergraduate and graduate students will work closely with students from host countries, implementing field research projects under the guidance of team leaders and senior graduate students. This collaboration between US and local scientists, students, and non-government stakeholders will help clarify regional patterns of vertebrate biodiversity within this poorly known biodiversity hotspot. Modern terrestrial vertebrate collections from the Southwest Pacific archipelagos will allow testing and reinterpretation of fundamental ecological and evolutionary hypotheses. Biodiversity surveys will focus on collections of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Georeferenced collections will include multiple preparation types, genetic samples, blood smears, gastrointestinal contents, and associated parasite faunas. High quality audio recordings of species vocalizations will document these often overlooked aspects of the phenotype. Audio data will include targeted recordings of individual birds, bats, frogs, and geckos, as well as environmental recordings of dawn and dusk choruses. Reduced representation genomic sampling of populations (RAD-seq and sequence capture) will be used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among species and populations, as well as to assess levels of gene flow among island populations with varying degrees of geographic isolation. Data will be made available through open-access repositories and results will be synthesized in a comparative framework across all terrestrial vertebrates.

西南太平洋岛连锁店的陆地动物表现出独特的多元化模式。 这些模式的解释影响了生态和进化的领域，但是产生这些模式的过程很少研究。 此外，很少有科学家参观了该岛地区的许多更遥远，更坚固的地区，而这些地区的动物是众所周知的。该项目包含两个主要组成部分：（1）调查脊椎动物群落（鸟类，青蛙，蜥蜴，蛇和哺乳动物）的野外作业，并在西南太平洋的各种生物群落中收集标本材料； （2）基于实验室的遗传分析研究这些动物群体的进化史以及岛屿种群之间的当代相互作用。现场和实验室工作将使新物种的描述，重新定义生物多样性的模式，并为世界一流的全球收藏提供急需的比较材料。重要的是，在整个工作中，对美国大学生的培训和教育都融合在一起。美国本科生和研究生将与来自东道国的学生紧密合作，在团队领导者和高级研究生的指导下实施现场研究项目。 我们与本地科学家，学生和非政府利益相关者之间的这种合作将有助于阐明这个知名的生物多样性热点中脊椎动物生物多样性的区域模式。来自西南太平洋群岛的现代陆地脊椎动物收集将允许对基本生态和进化假设进行测试和重新解释。生物多样性调查将集中在鸟类，哺乳动物，爬行动物和两栖动物的集合上。地理参考的收集将包括多种制备类型，遗传样品，血液涂片，胃肠道含量和相关的寄生虫动物群。 物种发声的高质量录音将记录表型的这些经常被忽略的方面。 音频数据将包括单个鸟类，蝙蝠，青蛙和壁虎的目标记录，以及黎明和黄昏合唱的环境记录。人群种群（RAD-SEQ和序列捕获）的基因组采样的减少将用于重建物种和人群之间的系统发育关系，并评估具有不同地理位置隔离的岛屿种群之间的基因流量水平。数据将通过开放式存储库提供，结果将在所有陆地脊椎动物的比较框架中合成。