DISSERTATION RESEARCH: A multilocus, multi-species study of community assembly in an isolated fauna

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

A central goal of evolutionary biology is to understand how and when biodiversity develops in the novel environments that are created by changing geology and climate. For example, the island of Taiwan emerged from the sea approximately five million years ago and, through colonization from various places, now contains thousands of unique plants and animals. This study will apply new analytical techniques to molecular genetic data to reconstruct the colonization histories of 24 bird species that are unique to Taiwan. The project will reveal how and when the bird fauna of an isolated island was assembled over evolutionary time and improve understanding of the historical development of the bird diversity seen today. This project will advance understanding of the evolution of an isolated biota. It also will form the basis for an informal education program aimed at communicating the science of evolutionary biology to the bird-watching general public. The project also fosters new scientific and educational opportunities between students and researchers in Taiwan, Mainland China, and the USA.