环境对生物的选择和影响以及生物对环境变化的响应是进化生物学的核心命题。两栖类具有较强的栖息地依赖性和较弱的迁徙能力，生活史包括水陆两个阶段，对降水、温度变化十分敏感，已成为全球气候变化的重要指示生物，是揭示生态地理格局上遗传谱系演化规律的理想对象。. 花臭蛙复合体(Odorrana schmackeri species complex)包含多个分布区重叠的隐存种，广泛分布于我国秦岭以南季风区，北纬33°以南、第二至第三阶梯南温带至南亚热带15个省（区）101个分布点。本项目已积累47个分布点533个样本，将基于多个mtDNA 和核DNA序列，综合分子系统学、种群遗传学、生物地理学方法，从大尺度(1)重建花臭蛙复合体的进化历史，构建谱系关系；(2)揭示隐存种，界定分布范围；(3)探讨造山运动、第四纪气候波动对花臭蛙复合体分布格局的影响，解析地理阻隔和生态选择在物种形成中的作用

Understanding how the environment selected and influenced the organisms and the adaptation of the organisms to the environmental changes is one of the central goals in evolutionary biology. Amphibians, because of their high philopatry, limited dispersal, and sensitivity to precipitation and temperature variations for the aquatic and terrestrial life style, are probably the best model organisms for global climate changes and testing phylogeographic hypoteses.. Odorrana schmackeri species complex, including a few sympatric cryptic species, occur in the monsoon region of the south of Qinling Mountains, China, and distribute widely in 101 localities of 15 Provinces (Districts) at the south of latitude 33o N ranging from south temperate to south subtropical zone in the second and third topography ladder. With specimen collected from 47 localities to date, analyses of different datasets of mtDNA and nuclear DNA data were conducted based on methods of molecular phylogenetics, population genetics and biogeography. Our objectives are 1) to reconstruct the evolutionary history and phylogeny of O. schmackeri species complex, and 2) to reveal and address the cryptic species and their distribution range, and 3) to predict the influence of orogenic events and Quaternary climatic fluctuation to O. schmackeri species complex, and discern the role of geographic barrier and ecological selection in speciation events.