Chameleons represent one of the most spectacular species groups in Madagascar and the Indian Ocean, with almost 100 species (including new species to be described by this study). Although this tropical group exhibits many desirable features for understanding processes of speciation between islands and within continents, we currently lack a robust understanding of species relationships. This project will produce the first comprehensive species-level phylogeny based on molecular DNA and morphological data, which coupled with GIS and newly developed distribution modeling algorithms, is expected to advance our knowledge of processes that promote speciation and the generation of biodiversity. In particular, the potential role of past paleo-climatic change driving speciation is to be studied.
This project is one of the first to integrate evolutionary histories of modern species with paleo-climatic change, and results are expected to improve our understanding of the processes that produce new species on continents: a topic still very much unresolved in modern biology. This study also integrates new types of data (remotely sensed satellite data, GIS environmental layers, species distribution models, and molecular data) to explore other applications including accelerating the discovery of new species, developing conservation strategies. and predicting species responses to potential future climate change.
