DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Importance of Alternative Mating Types to Speciation

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The mechanisms by which a single species diverges to form two separate species remains a central question in biology. This research will test the hypothesis that sexual selection (competition for mates) promotes rapid evolution and speciation. This study will be conducted on the side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana, a species that has three distinct male mating strategies that compete for females. First, phylogenetic methods (methods that reconstruct the evolutionary history of populations) will be used to test whether there is rapid evolution of multiple traits when mating types are lost in a population. Then, both behavioral and mating experiments will be done to test if reproductive isolation (the hallmark of speciation) results when mating types change between populations.Understanding the mechanisms of speciation can inform research on genetics, conservation, ecology, and all other areas of biology since species are the fundamental unit of study in biology. As part of this project, at least three undergraduates will gain hands on experience in multiple fields of biology including behavioral ecology, evolution, and phylogenetics. The undergraduates will also learn experimental design and some of the most common methods of molecular biology including DNA extraction, the polymerase chain reaction, and DNA sequencing.