NSFDEB-NERC: Origins and expansion of endemic biodiversity in western Melanesia and their relation to tectonic evolution

NSFDEB-NERC：美拉尼西亚西部特有生物多样性的起源和扩展及其与构造演化的关系

基本信息

批准号：
2230919
负责人：
Edward Kraus
金额：
$ 22.3万
依托单位：
Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2022
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2230919&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
NSFDEB NERC Origins expansion endemic

项目摘要

This project addresses a fundamental research question regarding how geological processes drive the diversification of species and current patterns of biodiversity. The project will focus on western Melanesia, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth as well as a region of high tectonic activity. A synthesis of biological and geological models for several animal groups will clarify the timing and extent of colonization and diversification of biotic diversity within the context of the region’s geologic history. The results will advance our understanding of the effects of tectonic movements on the generation and dispersal of species. The research is funded in partnership with the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) as an international collaboration between U.S. and U.K. laboratories. The project will support the training of graduate and postdoctoral scholars, as well as collaborative training and outreach activities in Papua Guinea. The research team will construct dated phylogenetic trees for over 25 reptile and amphibian lineages representing different dispersal abilities, times of origin, and natural histories that span the five major landmasses of western Melanesia. Areas and times of origin for each group will be identified and traced to explain details of their expansion to new regions. Updated geological models will be created and will illuminate tectonic events that drove speciation and dispersal in the region. This research will test competing models for the origins and maintenance of Pacific biodiversity distributions. The results will be broadly useful as a model for investigating biogeographic evolution in regions with complex tectonic histories and dynamics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目解决了一个基本研究问题，即地质过程如何推动物种多样化和生物多样性的当前模式。该项目将重点关注西美拉尼西亚，这是地球上生物多样性最丰富的地区之一，也是构造活动频繁的地区。几个动物群体的生物和地质模型将阐明该地区地质历史背景下的殖民化和生物多样性多样化的时间和范围，这些结果将增进我们对构造运动对世代影响的理解。该研究是与英国自然环境研究委员会（NERC）合作资助的，作为美国和英国实验室之间的国际合作项目，将支持研究生和博士后学者的培训以及合作培训和推广。研究小组将为超过 25 个爬行动物和两栖动物谱系构建年代发育树，这些谱系代表不同的扩散能力、起源时间和跨越五个主要物种的自然历史。该研究将确定和追踪每个群体的起源区域和时间，以解释其向新地区扩张的细节，并阐明推动该地区物种形成和扩散的构造事件。将测试太平洋生物多样性分布的起源和维持的竞争模型，其结果将作为研究具有复杂构造历史和动态的区域的生物地理演化的模型而具有广泛的用途。该奖项是美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并且已被授予。通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。