Dissertation Research: Studies of Diversification in Anolis marmoratus Lizards

阿诺利斯属的蜥蜴是最常见和最多样化的 加勒比海的陆栖脊椎动物。 尽管进行了广泛 了解他们的生态，行为和地理 分布，对遗传变异的水平知之甚少 在许多物种的种群内部和种群之间， 这些水平影响物种形成过程。 形态学上 不同的物种Anolis marmoratus，在12个命名的亚种 小安的列斯群岛的瓜德罗普岛，提供了一个测试 探索交配系统、水平 遗传变异和形态学上的物种形成 变化 本种的变异在以下方面特别显著 成年雄性的颜色和图案;特征，沿着 信号行为，在社会竞争和交配中很重要 识别. 这些特征的变化，导致了 所谓的竞争性（即优先）交配，将促进 种群间遗传差异的积累，一个假设 物种形成的第一步（完全生殖隔离）。 学院顾问大卫韦克和哈里格林将监督 研究生克里斯托弗·施耐德在一项遗传学研究中， 行为和形态上的变化 蜥蜴 重点放在核苷酸测序的选择 线粒体基因来获得变异的精细证据 以及种群之间、岛屿内部和 群岛 基因数据将允许几个假设的测试 关于男性的颜色模式和展示行为如何影响 交配成功，从而帮助构建当地种群 遗传的 反过来，关于遗传结构的知识， 当地的种群将有助于测试物种形成过程的想法 在这个多样化的蜥蜴群体中。

Lizards of the genus Anolis are the most common and diverse terrestrial vertebrates in the Caribbean. Despite extensive knowledge about their ecology, behavior, and geographical distributions, little is known about levels of genetic variability within and between populations of the many species, and of how these levels affect processes of speciation. The morphologically diverse species Anolis marmoratus, with 12 named subspecies in the Guadeloupean archipelago of the Lesser Antilles, provides a test case for exploring the relationship between mating systems, levels of genetic variability, and speciation involving morphological change. Variation in this species is particularly conspicuous in color and pattern of adult males; characters that, along with signalling behavior, are important in social competition and mate recognition. Variation in these characters, leading to what is called assortative (that is, preferential) mating, will promote the accumulation of genetic differences among populations, a postulated first step leading to speciation (complete reproductive isolation). Faculty advisers David Wake and Harry Greene will supervise graduate student Christopher Schneider in a study of genetic, behavioral, and morphological variation in this group of anolis lizards. Emphasis is placed on nucleotide sequencing of select mitochondrial genes to acquire fine-scale evidence of variation and of gene flow between populations, within islands and between islands. The gene data will allow several tests of hypotheses concerning how male color patterns and display behaviors affect mating success, and thereby help structure local populations genetically. In turn, knowledge about the genetic structure of local populations will help test ideas about speciation processes in this diverse group of lizards.