Dissertation Research: A Test of Phylogenetic Congruence in Three Symbionts: Gophers, Lice, and Whipworms

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9321395 Hafner Pocket gophers and their louse parasites have been shown to have similar phylogenetic (genealogical) histories. The proposed study analyses this relationship in detail by examining pocket gophers and two groups of chewing lice that parasitize the gophers. In addition it examines the historical relationships between gophers and an internal parasite, the whipworms. The study will compare phylogenies of gophers and their parasites using mitochondrial DNA nucleotide sequence differentiation. These data offer an opportunity directly to quantify the genetic change associated with the host and parasite phylogenies, and to evaluate the historical importance of vertebrate host-parasite associations.