| NSF Org: |
DEB Division Of Environmental Biology |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | July 24, 2012 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | March 11, 2015 |
| Award Number: | 1145459 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
ashley dowling
DEB Division Of Environmental Biology BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | July 15, 2012 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2016 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $366,846.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $379,992.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2015 = $13,146.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
500 W UNIVERSITY AVE EL PASO TX US 79968-8900 (915)747-5680 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
500 W. University Avenue El Paso TX US 79968-8900 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | Systematics & Biodiversity Sci |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001516DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
The goal of this project is to understand the taxonomy and evolutionary history of amphibians, reptiles and their endoparasites in one of the most poorly known regions in the world: the lowlands of Central Africa. Forests in the Congo Basin are renowned for their immense biodiversity, but are increasingly threatened by deforestation, climate change and chytrid fungus infections in multiple genera of frogs. Chytrid infections are linked to global amphibian declines. DNA analyses of samples collected during surveys will be used to identify and describe new species, and to reconstruct their evolutionary history. The investigators estimate the project may double the approximately 380 species of amphibians and reptiles currently known from the region.
Undergraduate students will work in teams to participate in cybertaxonomy and rapid-identification projects by analyzing photographs of specimens with associated georeference data via dedicated websites, and in real time as expeditions are occurring. Project leaders will use solar-powered chargers and computers to blog from the field as expeditions are in progress as a way to engage students, colleagues and the general public in the research. It is anticipated that this project will significantly elevate the global understanding of the importance of the Congo Basin?s biodiversity, and support ongoing, in-country efforts to expand national parks.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Note:
When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external
site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a
charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from
this site.
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 goal of this project was to understand the taxonomy and evolutionary history of the most poorly known animal groups (amphibians, reptiles, and their endoparasites) in one of the most poorly known regions in the world (lowlands of Central Africa). Forests in the Congo Basin are renowned for their immense biodiversity, but are increasingly threatened by deforestation, global climate change and chytrid fungus infections in multiple genera of frogs (linked to global amphibian declines), underscoring the urgency and importance of this project’s research. DNA analyses of samples collected during surveys were used to identify new species and reconstruct their evolutionary history. University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) students worked in teams to participate in cybertaxonomy and rapid-identification projects by analyzing photographs of specimens with associated georeference data in real time as expeditions were occurring via dedicated blog websites. These preliminary identifications were modified (when necessary) after expeditions when the students had an opportunity to generate DNA sequence data and collect morphological data from the specimens. Several US, Congolese and Ugandan students, many representing traditionally underrepresented groups in science, participated in multiple aspects of this project.
Major expeditions led by project leader Eli Greenbaum to explore the biodiversity of the Congo Basin’s rainforests in Democratic Republic of the Congo were successful, and scores of new species of amphibians, reptiles, and associated parasites were identified during the course of this project. Scientific publications formally describing these new species to science have been published, and will likely continue for years. Chytrid fungus infections were discovered in multiple populations of frogs in the Congo Basin, refuting previous claims that the disease is rare or absent in lowland rainforests. New species of endoparasites were discovered, and malaria was detected in several genera of snakes and lizards. Vegetation shifts caused by a global cooling trend in the Miocene was the common process responsible for the evolutionary patterns recovered in the project’s major studies of herpetological evolutionary history.
Three websites, a major public museum exhibit with an associated 22-minute Youtube video, a forthcoming book for the general public, three Master’s theses (including two by Hispanic students), and 75 presentations and publications resulted from this work. It is anticipated that this project will significantly elevate the global importance of the Congo Basin’s biodiversity, and support ongoing, in-country efforts to expand national parks.
Last Modified: 09/28/2016
Modified by: Eli B Greenbaum
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
