DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Using comparative phylogeography to understand evolutionary diversification in Central American freshwater fishes

Brigham Young University, Provo UT

Investigators

Abstract

A central challenge in biology is to understand how new biodiversity arises. In this study, we examine how historical factors (climate change and geological events) interact with biological factors (natural selection) to shape biodiversity in tropical fish species. We focus on freshwater fishes found in Central America, a geologically complex area where changing sea levels, volcanic activity and formation of modern drainage basins over the past 7 million years have had a profound impact on freshwater species. By comparing DNA sequence data from multiple populations within several co-occurring species, we will reconstruct the evolutionary history of fishes in this region. We will integrate these genetic data with additional research focused on the role that natural selection has played in driving morphological and life history diversification in these species. Combined, this study will provide insight into how biological diversity is generated, especially under changing climatic conditions and against a dynamic earth history. This project will facilitate teaching and cultural exchange between North American and Central American scientists and students, including international research collaboration. Graduate and undergraduate students will be funded to participate in field collections, while others will be trained in laboratory DNA sequencing and dissection techniques. This project will engage local Central American communities in learning about their fish fauna, and products of this work will be broadly disseminated as publications and presentations at international conferences. This project also will incorporate simulation methods accounting for potentially confounding processes, which should produce more biologically realistic models and inferences. Moreover, by ushering in increased understanding of biodiversity within and among Central American fish species at various spatial scales, this project will provide critical information for future conservation planning.