H2020Индивидуална стипендия2022–2024

EARtH · Exploring the Australian Reptile Hypervolume: Assembly and evolution of a continental fauna

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2022-11-01 → 2024-10-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 224 934 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Еволюцията на австралийските влечуги се анализира чрез физическите им характеристики, като например защо някои гекони са без крайници. Това помага за по-доброто разбиране на процесите, по които се развиват различните видове в изолирана среда.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Exploring the Australian Reptile Hypervolume: Assembly and evolution of a continental fauna

The Marie Skłodowska Curie Action "Exploring the Australian Reptile Hypervolume" looks at how lizards and snakes have evolved in the world's richest reptile hotspot, Australia. The research investigates how the more than 1,000 species of lizards and snakes have come to look they way they look, live where they live, and develop a cohesive tree-of-life that links these many unique animals. Archetypic lizards and snakes would be familiar to most people, but the Australian fauna also includes extreme shapes that can provide insight into the processes of evolution. The project investigates how these processes progress by observing and documenting the diversity of Australian reptiles, and then asking questions like 'how does a gecko become limbless?', 'why do some skinks become gigantic?', and 'how does a frill of a frilled lizard evolve?'. These questions sound basic, but are difficult to quantify in evolutionary terms. To do so, I collected an encompassing morphological dataset (measurements of the head, body, limbs, and tail) that encapsulates tens of millions of years of evolution. I call this high-dimensional dataset the 'hypervolume'. Investigating these questions are foundational for our understanding of how evolution proceeds. Australia in particular, is a fantastic natural laboratory for studying evolution. Last connected to Antarctica 40 million years ago, Australia has long been separated from the other continents, and so has acted as a contained space for the evolution of many different plants and animals. Understanding these ideas presents a natural progression from evolutionary minds like Charles Darwin, George Gaylord Simpson, and Stephen J. Gould, who captured the minds of scientists and the general public. The objectives of this MSCA have focused on (1) understanding evolution in high dimensional spaces using many measurments, (2) determining the pace and consistency of evolution, and (3) quantifying the morphological diversity of Australian reptiles. Through these objectives, I have also engaged in expanding my research program and developing curatorial skills that will further my career.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

All forms of Life on Earth exist in their own unique niches defined by their appearance, behaviour, and preferred environment. These niches allow species to coexist and for biodiversity to accumulate at local, regional, and continental scales. By quantifying these niches in many dimensions we can build a hypervolume that describes diversity through variation in niche axes. While high dimensional trait data of this kind exist for birds and mammals, reptiles—which account for 30% of terrestrial vertebrate species—are poorly represented in these data and empirical studies of niche evolution. In EARtH I aim to fill this knowledge gap by building a high dimensional niche database for all Australian lizard and snake species (15 morphological measurements, 10 environmental variables, >1,000 species, ~10% of global reptile richness). Both biotic (character displacement through competition) and abiotic (habitat filtering) influences are expected to have predictable effects on niche evolution. By investigating hypervolume properties through time and across Australian reptile radiations I will test for the influence of biotic interactions on niche evolution. This novel approach will provide insight into the community assembly process which has made Australia the world’s richest reptile hotspot. By comparing trends across the Australian landscape I will also test for associations between hypervolume occupancy, phylogenetic turnover, and climate. Undertaking this fellowship will help me to develop comparative methods, museum curatorial, and reproducibility skills that complement my background in phylogenetics and macroevolution, making me a stronger and more independent researcher. In return, I look forward to sharing my skills and findings with the staff and visitors of the Natural History Museum in London and beyond.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM · LondonКоординаторОбединеното кралство