
NSF Org: |
DEB Division Of Environmental Biology |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | June 12, 2013 |
Latest Amendment Date: | February 20, 2014 |
Award Number: | 1343517 |
Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
Program Manager: |
Simon Malcomber
smalcomb@nsf.gov (703)292-8227 DEB Division Of Environmental Biology BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
Start Date: | May 1, 2013 |
End Date: | January 31, 2017 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $464,371.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $464,371.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2014 = $160,613.00 |
History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
202 HIMES HALL BATON ROUGE LA US 70803-0001 (225)578-2760 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
LA US 70803-2701 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): | PHYLOGENETIC SYSTEMATICS |
Primary Program Source: |
01001415DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
Program Reference Code(s): |
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Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
This project will improve our understanding of the diversity and evolutionary relationships in a poorly known group of mammals, Old World shrews of the subfamily Crocidurinae. These shrews are diverse, with approximately 240 species currently recognized, and they are very common members of small mammal communities, especially in central Africa and Southeast Asia. However, knowledge of Old World shrew diversity is very limited, in part due to their conservative morphology. This project therefore emphasizes the use of DNA sequences from independently evolving regions of the genome to delimit species and infer relationships among species. Estimated relationships will then be used to test hypotheses regarding the origins of this diversity, and its connection with lowland tropical or montane areas of the African continent.
This project provides insights on the diversity of shrews across the Old World and the evolutionary and ecological processes that have generated this diversity. More generally, our understanding of these processes has important implications for society's ability to preserve biodiversity and our understanding of the evolutionary forces that have shaped species. This grant provides training for a post-doctoral researcher and undergraduate students, facilitates collaboration among molecular and field biologists, and promotes public understanding of biodiversity science through museum exhibits and project websites.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The primary goals of this project were to improve our understanding of the diversity and evolutionary relationships in a poorly known group of mammals, Old World shrews of the subfamily Crocidurinae. These shrews are diverse, with approximately 240 species currently recognized, and they are very common members of small mammal communities, especially in central Africa and Southeast Asia. However, knowledge of Old World shrew diversity is very limited, in part due to their conservative morphology.
Intellectual Merit: Our data generation efforts included the 1) collection of new specimens of shrews from Indonesia, Malaysia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Uganda; and the 2) generation of new sequence data from thousands of specimens, including a large dataset of several thousand genes from 350 individuals representing about 200 species. These data have been used to describe new species of shrews and to estimate the evolutionary relationships among species. In total, this grant has supported wholly or in part, 14 peer-reviewed publications.
Broader Impacts: This grant supported the training of three post-doctoral fellows, three graduate students, and eight undergraduate students. Trainees participated in all aspects of the research, from basic data collection to presentation of results at conferences and in publications. The specimens, and associated data, collected as part of this research have been incorporated into publicly accessible natural history collections and data repositories (e.g. VertNet, GenBank) and are available now and in perpetuity for use in research and education. This project involved extensive collaboration that spanned many international borders, with participants originating from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. Although this project is considered “basic science” we also collaborated with researchers whose interests are centered on zoonotic diseases, and hence, more “applied” in nature. This collaboration resulted in the discovery of novel hanta viruses endemic to African shrews. Various findings from this research have been featured in a natural history museum exhibit, at public outreach events hosted by museums, and in the popular press.
Last Modified: 04/26/2017
Modified by: Jacob A Esselstyn
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