Dissertation Research: Integrative species delimitation, cryptic coloration, and climatic niche breadth in songbirds

论文研究：鸣禽的综合物种界定、神秘色彩和气候生态位宽度

• 批准号: 1601072
• 负责人: Irby Lovette
• 金额: $ 2万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 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: 2016-07-01 至 2018-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1601072&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Integrative; species; delimitation

All species exhibit some level of phenotypic variation, such that individuals and populations differ in their appearance. The amount of phenotypic diversity and the number of species, however, vary dramatically among different types of organisms and regions of the world. Understanding the evolutionary and ecological processes that cause differences in the number of species among different groups of organisms and geographic regions is a longstanding goal in evolutionary biology. This research first seeks to improve our estimation of the number of species of horned locks, which would help in better understanding how biodiversity evolves and is maintained. This project will then measure geographic variation in camouflage by quantifying how feather coloration on the backs of larks matches the color and composition of the ground among different populations. Species that possess distinct forms of camouflage, or background matching, have provided some of society's most celebrated examples of natural selection; yet we lack an understanding of the evolutionary and ecological dynamics behind such complex, subtle, and continuous patterns of color variation related to camouflage. This research will advance our understanding of how animals adapt to environmental conditions that vary over space and time. The researchers will actively recruit and train undergraduate research assistants from underrepresented demographic groups in science to complete this work. This project will also generate online educational resources and popular science articles to educate the public about natural selection and camouflage in nature. This research proposes an integrative study of phenotypic and genetic differentiation within a recent, widespread, and highly polytypic lineage of larks in the bird genus Eremophila. The project will leverage traditionally data sources, including multiple forms of remote sensing data, digital photography, and ancient DNA from museum toepads via Sequence Capture using PCR-generated Probes (SCPP), to delimit species and undertake comparative analyses of cryptic coloration. Using SCPP, the researchers will generate a panel of 60 loci, including the mitochondrial genome, sex-linked markers, and autosomal introns and exons, for phylogeographic analyses and integrative species delimitation alongside phenotypic variation in song, plumage, and morphology. Upon delimiting species and resolving relationships within the genus, the project will use the revised taxonomy and corresponding species tree to quantify the prevalence of geographic variation in cryptic coloration--or the degree of background matching between dorsal plumage and corresponding substrates--among populations and species. Finally, the project will test whether the amount of variation in cryptic coloration is correlated with abiotic niche breadth among species in Eremophila, which would suggest that evolvability of cryptic coloration plays an important role facilitating range expansions into different habitats.

所有物种均表现出一定程度的表型变异，因此个人和种群的外观有所不同。但是，在世界各地的生物和世界各地，表型多样性的数量和物种数量在不同类型的生物和区域之间存在巨大变化。了解不同生物体和地理区域之间物种数量差异的进化和生态过程是进化生物学的长期目标。这项研究首先旨在提高我们对角锁种类数量的估计，这将有助于更好地了解生物多样性如何发展和维持。然后，该项目将通过量化Larks背部的羽毛色素如何匹配不同种群之间地面的颜色和组成，从而测量伪装的地理变化。具有不同形式的伪装或背景匹配的物种提供了一些社会最著名的自然选择例子。然而，我们对这种复杂，微妙和连续的颜色变化与伪装相关的复杂，微妙和连续模式背后的进化和生态动力学缺乏理解。这项研究将促进我们对动物如何适应环境条件的理解。研究人员将积极招募和培训来自代表性不足的科学人群中的本科研究助理，以完成这项工作。该项目还将生成在线教育资源和流行的科学文章，以教育公众关于自然界的自然选择和伪装。这项研究提出了一项综合研究，对最近，广泛且高度多型的鸟类中的表型和遗传分化的综合研究。该项目将通过使用PCR生成的探针（SCPP）（SCPP）捕获序列捕获博物馆的多种形式的数据源，包括多种形式的遥感数据，数字摄影和古老的DNA，以划定物种并进行隐秘色素的比较分析。使用SCPP，研究人员将生成一个由60个基因座的面板，包括线粒体基因组，性别连接标记以及常染色体内含子和外显子，用于植物地理学分析和整合物种定界，以及歌曲，羽毛，羽毛和形态学的表型变化。在将物种划分并解决该属内的关系后，该项目将使用经修订的分类学和相应的物种树来量化隐秘着色中地理变化的普遍性，或者是背背羽毛和相应底物之间的背景程度 - 种群和物种。最后，该项目将测试隐秘着色的变化量是否与eremophila物种之间的非生物利基市场宽度相关，这表明隐性着色的可演化性起着促进范围扩展到不同栖息地的重要作用。