National Science Foundation, Biotic Surveys and Inventories Panel: “A Comprehensive Biotic Survey of Philippine Land Vertebrates and Their Parasites.” (DEB 0743491, 2008–2013; R. Brown, lead-PI at KU and R. Moyle, co-PIs at KU; D. Clayton and S. Bush, co-PIs at U. Utah; $900,942).
This project represents an integrated team effort to comprehensively survey, review, and summarize the biodiversity of terrestrial vertebrates and parasites of the Philippines. The Philippines has been designated a “megadiverse country” and a “global conservation hotspot” (a distinction shared only with Madagascar), yet its biodiversity remains largely unknown, underappreciated, and undescribed. Together with many collaborators and students we will survey vertebrate and parasite diversity at more than 50 sites throughout the country—across elevational, climatological, habitat, and seasonal gradients. The results will be an unprecedented collection of finest-quality museum specimens with complete, digitized and web-served accompanying data for an estimated 2500–3000 species. New biodiversity information products will include digital collection data, faunal summaries, keys and field guides, and descriptions of new host and parasite taxa for use by biodiversity specialists. Second-order results will include conceptual studies, and investigation of emerging infectious diseases presenting immediate threats to amphibian (chytrid fungus), and bird (avian influenza) biodiversity. By targeting IUCN-categorized “Data Deficient” species and “Key Biodiversity Areas,” the project will inform policy makers and the conservation community on a scale never before realized. This research will provide significant educational opportunities for many undergraduate and graduate students, including numerous Filipino-Americans and other underrepresented groups in science.
National Geograhic Society: “Establishing Conservation Priorities for Philippine Tarsiers (Tarsius syrichta) Using Survey, Population Census, Bioacoustic, and Molecular Conservation Genetic Techniques to Identify Evolutionary Significant Units” (NGS 8446-08; R. Brown, J. Weghorst, M. Shekelle, I. Neri-Arboleda, M. Diesmos, and L. Duya, co-PIs; $24,605).
Biodiversity-rich tropical forest habitats are being destroyed and altered around the globe, and the Philippines has been designated one of the “hottest” of the global biodiversity conservation hotspots. Charismatic, tropical forest species, particularly primates, are often recruited as flagship species to save remaining forests. Primarily because of its unusual appearance and enigmatic behavior, the Philippine tarsier is now one of the country’s primary flagships of conservation. Nevertheless, very little is known of the taxonomic diversity and conservation status of Philippine tarsiers. Past taxonomic studies have recognized three poorly differentiated subspecies, but some limited and unpublished genetic data collected by us suggests that several highly divergent, cryptic species may exist in the Philippines. We propose a comprehensive survey of Philippine tarsiers in order to determine the true number of evolutionary lineages (species) in the country, to identify evolutionary significant units for conservation, and to properly enumerate the distributions of each species. We propose to use these data to estimate the conservation status of each distinct lineage (currently Philippine tarsiers are considered a single “Data Deficient” species by IUCN) and identify future conservation priorities. To accomplish this, we will collect four kinds of data, including (1) mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, (2) bioacoustic analyses of vocalizations, (3) ecological variables (habitat preference, elevational distributions, etc.), and (4) traditional morphology (size, shape, and color variation). Results from our work will be made immediately available to the scientific and conservation communities through scientific publications, popular articles, local education campaigns, and freely served online databases.
National Science Foundation, Dissertation Improvement Grant Panel: “Historical Processes and Genetic Implications of Limb Reduction and Loss in an Island Skink Lineage” (R. Brown, PI; and C. Siler, co-PI; $11,950).
The process of limb reduction and loss, and the population genetic and biogeographic implications of such changes in body plan, in skink species of the genus Brachymeles will be studied. The known species-level diversity of this genus is concentrated in the Philippines, with species exhibiting a full range of limb development, including fully-limbed, intermediate, and limbless forms. Specimens and genetic samples will be collected for all recognized species, with supplemental material obtained via inter-museum loans. Both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA will be sequenced, a library of polymorphic nuclear loci will be developed, and external morphological and osteological characters will be measured. The molecular data will be used to construct hypotheses of relationships within the genus under parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods. The study will investigate the level of cryptic diversity and will test the monophyly of hypothesized species complexes. Morphological measurements will be used to test the hypothesized morphological changes associated with limb reduction and loss. Correlated patterns of population genetic and biogeographic diversity will be studied using multi-locus approaches. Through the integration of morphology, ecology, molecular phylogenetics, population genetics, and biogeography, the results of this study will provide a basis for testable hypotheses in studies of limb loss.
National Science Foundation, Systematic Panel Grant: “Collaborative Research: Comparative Biogeography of Sulawesi – Phylogenetic and Coalescent Analyses of Diversification in Frogs, Lizards, and Monkeys” (DEB 602,000; 2007–210; PI-KU Rafe Brown [$244,481]; PI-UCB Jim McGuire ($358,519 with a $100,000 subaward Ben Evans, McMaster University, Canada]).
This project will investigate diversificationof Sulawesi fauna in intimate detail by applying traditional comparative phylogenetic and biogeographic methodologies, along with recently developed coalescent-based population genetic approaches, in a strict hypothesis-testing framework. The taxonomic focus of the study will be six distantly related vertebrate clades comprising endemic radiations of Sulawesi macaque monkeys (Macaca), flying lizards (Draco), emerald tree skinks (Lamprolepis), fanged frogs (Limnonectes), Celebes toads (Bufo celebensis), swamp frogs (Rana celebensis) and stream frogs (Rana cf chalconota). This project will be unique in its development of new molecular tools and methodologies for studying the evolutionary process of diversification in a conceptually interesting model island system. A novel aspect of the proposed study will be the development of 20 unlinked anonymous nuclear loci for each focal taxon obtained by screening genomic libraries constructed for each group. These anonymous loci, which are significantly more variable than typical nuclear loci employed in phylogenetic studies, will first be analyzed using phylogenetic methods to evaluate broad biogeographic patterns across SE Asia and detailed patterns of diversification on Sulawesi. They will then be analyzed using coalescent methods to investigate gene flow at putative species boundaries, as well as to estimate relative divergence times for speciation events on Sulawesi. The end result will enable evolutionary and biogeographic hypothesis testing on a scale never before realized in SE Asia.
National
Science Foundation, Biological Surveys and Inventories Grant: “Biodiversity
Surveys in the Southern Borderlands of the People’s Republic of
Abstract
This project represents an integrated effort to document the
terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity of the southern borderlands of
National Science Foundation Assembling the Tree Of Life Grant: “AmphibiaTree—an Integrated, Phylogenetic and Bioinformatic Approach to the Tree of Amphibians”(EF-0334952; 2003-2008: D. Cannatella, D. Hillis, D. Wake, J. Hanken, R. Brown, and L. Trueb; $237,000.00) Download PDF
Modern Amphibians are a
prominent part of the Earth’s vertebrate fauna and include three orders: the caecilians (Gymnophiona), salamanders
(Caudata), and frogs and toads (Anura).
Despite recent advances in discovering and describing their diversity,
many critical questions in amphibian evolution remain unresolved and a fresh
analysis of evolutionary relationships is needed to take new discoveries into
account. Furthermore, the recent decline
and apparent extinction of amphibians from many environments makes it urgent
that we discover and classify the diversity present today. A team of seven investigators from diverse institutions (
Conservation International Threatened Species Fund Grant
“Describing Cryptic Species Diversity in Philippine
Abstract
The Asian forest frog genus Platymantis possesses two major centers of diversity—one in the
General Research Fund (University of Kansas): “Stages of evolutionary diversification in replicated radiations of forest frogs from SE Asia and the SW Pacific” (R. M. Brown; $11,659.00)
Abstract
This work will provide an integrative foundation for the development of a model system for the study of adaptive radiation and the evolution of community structure in island archipelagos. Preliminary data suggest that ceratobatrachine ranid frog species diversity is drastically underestimated and consists of two reciprocally monophyletic clades, with one in the Philippines and one in the Islands of the SW Pacific. Preliminary mitochondrial gene data, coupled with analyses of morphological data, bioacoustic, and ecological characteristics suggest that these replicated radiations have diversified by fundamentally different processes of adaptive radiation. As part of this study I will sample frogs of several large islands of the Solomons, obtain microhabitat and behavioral (acoustic) data from natural populations, collect genetic samples for the collection of molecular sequence data, and collect new data from mitochondrial and nuclear genes for phylogeny estimation. Finally, I will test four explicit tree-based hypotheses concerning the tempo and mode of speciation in replicated radiations of island frogs.