Project Details
Projekt
New approaches for species delimitation from genome data with examples to two widespread fireflies (Lamprohiza splendidula and Photinus pyralis)
Applicants
Ana Catalan, Ph.D.; Dr. Sebastian Höhna
Subject Area
Bioinformatics and Theoretical Biology
Evolution, Anthropology
Evolution, Anthropology
Term
since 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 447192820
Species delimitation methods perform essential analyses in evolutionary biology, systematics and ecology. The primary goal of a species delimitation method is to identify the boundaries between species, that is, whether several population represent, in fact, separate species, or belong to the same species. Several new methods have been proposed in recent years. However, none of the existing methods capture the complexity of empirical systems while still producing robust estimates of species delimitations. For example, most commonly used methods do not include gene flow between recently diverged species or changes in population sizes. Both of these assumptions are commonly violated as new species often rapidly increase in population size as well as exchange genes with their sister species.In this project we will develop a new method for species delimitation which remedies existing shortcomings, that is, we will include gene flow and population size changes in our model. We expect that our approach will outperform existing methods because our approach builds upon the long tradition of full-likelihood statistical methods. We will evaluate the performance, power and robustness of our approach using a simulation study and further extend the simulation study to compare our approach to existing methods.Since method development alone can often fail to capture important practical aspects, we will complement our project with a case study on two widely spread firefly species: the North American Photinus pyralis and the European Lamprohiza splendidula. Both species have a wide distribution in their respective continents and the current taxonomic hypothesis declares each as a single species. However, both species show extreme sexual dimorphism where only adult male individuals are able to fly. Thus, it is surprising that both species have expanded their ranges fairly recently, for example, the European firefly Lamprohiza splendidula has migrated to north of the Alps (including Germany) most likely after the last glaciation.This project will advance the field by providing a new approach for species delimitation. The case study on fireflies will provide an example for many other study systems, several of which are analyzed in the SPP. Finally, the species delimitation of the two firefly species will produce additional insights into the impact of changing climate (recent colonization of previous permafrost areas) and environments (e.g., light pollution) on insect biodiversity.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
