Why do some groups of organisms contain huge numbers of species and others so few? This fundamental question about the earth?s biological diversity remains largely unanswered. In this project, students and researchers from Cornell University and collaborating institutions in Australia will generate genetic data and create a suite of new mathematical approaches to explore when and why groups of species have either proliferated or been decimated by extinction. As a testing ground for these new techniques, they will study a super-diverse group of Australian lizards in which a single ancestor has diversified into hundreds (or maybe thousands) of living species. The unusually high diversity of this lizard group makes it a particularly powerful model for testing ideas about the interplay of ecology, climate change, and patterns of diversity over time and space.
The analytical methods invented as part of this project will be used broadly by other research teams seeking to understand the biodiversity of other groups of organisms. Laboratory methods for sequencing and comparing DNA are becoming ever more efficient, creating a need for equally powerful analytical methods such as these that can put this growing wealth of genetic information to use in addressing ?big picture? questions about biological diversity. In addition to the many intellectual rationales for studying fundamental biological patterns, understanding biological diversification is critical for the effective conservation and resource management of the earth?s biological diversity.
