A primary concern of biologists is the discovery and documentation of earth's biodiversity. Documentation and investigation of the evolutionary relationships of organisms are the first steps towards understanding the origin and distribution of that diversity and what forces were involved in its generation. Lizards of the genus Anolis are model organisms for such studies in the Caribbean. This project aims to: 1) understand the evolutionary relationships of mainland (Central and South American) anoles and 2) investigate and explain the origin and distribution of this mainland lizard group. To achieve these aims, the project will collect specimens across a broad distributional range and analyze morphological and molecular data to test hypotheses of the evolution and distribution of these lizards.
The project involves graduate and undergraduate students from varied disciplines. Biology students will be trained in field and laboratory techniques, including publication and presentation of results at international meetings. Students completing a minor in Museum Studies (from diverse majors such as History, Art, and Anthropology) will be trained in the everyday tasks of museum work from managing specimens to developing exhibitions on the results of this project.
The goal of this project was to investigate the origin and evolutionary distribution of six widespread anole lizards (genus Anolis, now Norops) occuring in Central and South America. The purpose for this project was to test several hypotheses that have been controversial in the literature; several origins have been proposed for the Norops lineage, and there is disagreement on whether they moved from a northern origin southwards, from a southern origin northwards, or something entirely different. The timing of these movements and origin are also unknown. Over the course of three collecting summer seasons I obtained specimens of six species (Norops biporcatus, N. capito, N. humilis, N. lemurinus, N. limifrons, and N. pentaprion) throughout their geographic ranges, as well as other samples for poorly known species, for analysis. I am a half-time associate professor of biology, half-time Curator of Natural History in our museum, and I supported and trained two graduate students and 10 undergraduate students in field work and lab work that we are only just finishing up as I write. We have made the following observations and conclusions from our work: most species, contrary to the literature, show a south to north distribution from South America up through Central America. One species, N. pentaprion, we were unable to collect adequate samples to analyze, as it is a cryptic canopy species. In addition, most species seem to have split early in their distribution in Panama into east and west coast populations that moved along the two mountain versants as they traveled northwards. The timing for the origin of each species is still being analyzed, but appears to be similar among the species, and much earlier than originally predicted by other studies. Lastly, the basal branches throughout the tree seem to be very short, followed by very long branches within each species' group, suggesting incredibly rapid radiation throughout the mainland clade, followed by long periods of in situ change. I have designed and installed a museum exhibit based upon this work that launched February 2012, and is currently being revamped to include more of the specific results of my current work. The exhibit is geared towards all ages, called "Journey Through the Jungle", and introduces visitors to the flora, fauna, and cultures of Central and South America. Because my work could not be completed until we had all the samples, and we could only collect during the summer, and most of the lab work was conducted by undergraduates, we have only just finished the data collection and have the results. However, my students have experienced great success from this training and work, all have gone on to graduate school or med school. We have published two papers so far, three are in review (mostly short notes from our field work), but we have six papers in preparation that we hope to have submitted this summer or fall 2013. One large monograph published in the journal Zootaxa has received incredible response from scholars in the field, and has spawned a stimulating conversation concerning classfication and taxonomy. I anticipate that once our papers have all been published, we will then use the resulting phylogenies to test several hypotheses regarding morphological evolution of mainland anoles. I have had two students present preliminary results every summer at international professional meetings over the course of 3 summers.
