Dissertation Research: Comparative Phylogeography of Six Philippine Fruit Bats <Pteropodidae>

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

This project will investigate patterns of genetic variation across the geographic ranges of six Philippine fruit bat species, examining how distribution, geologic history, and ecology contribute to these patterns and how continued divergence is occurring in this group. These species represent the three major ways in which Philippine mammals are distributed: two are widespread in Southeast Asia, two are found throughout the Philippines, and two are found only in single subregions within the Philippines. The ancestral relationships among individuals and populations in each species will be determined using DNA sequences from two genes. Statistical methods based on these relationships and on population genetic theory will be used to infer and compare the demographic histories of these species. Comparative approaches have become powerful tools in the study of regional patterns of biodiversity. A study of six closely related species will allow the rigorous analysis of evolutionary processes in the Philippines, an archipelago with a complex history. It will help identify the processes generating species richness in this area, which has some of the world's highest levels of biodiversity. Studying the processes driving evolution in places like the Philippines is necessary in order to understand current biogeographic patterns worldwide. Understanding the particular ways in which evolution acts on islands and archipelagoes is also crucial for conserving species in increasingly fragmented, island-like habitats.