Biogeographers have long been interested in the highly endemic biota of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Sulawesi has been isolated from the adjacent mainland for its entire history, and was formed through accretion of multiple paleo-islands that originated in far-flung corners of the West Pacific. This study will investigate species diversification and biogeography of Sulawesi fauna by applying phylogenetic and biogeographic methodologies, along with recently developed coalescent-based population genetic approaches. The taxonomic focus will be six vertebrate taxa comprising endemic Sulawesi radiations of macaque monkeys (Macaca), flying lizards (Draco), tree skinks (Lamprolepis), fanged frogs (Limnonectes), toads (Bufo celebensis), and tree frogs (Polypedates).
A novel aspect of this study is the development of 20 unlinked nuclear loci for each focal taxon obtained by screening genomic libraries constructed for each group. These loci will be analyzed using phylogenetic methods to evaluate broad biogeographic patterns across SE Asia and detailed patterns of diversification on Sulawesi. They will be further analyzed using coalescent methods to investigate gene flow at species boundaries, and to estimate divergence times for speciation events on Sulawesi. Results will be directly applicable to Indonesian agencies tasked with protecting biodiversity to target underprotected areas of endemism in this Global Conservation hotspot.
