Synthetic Approaches Toward Crocodylian Phylogeny

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This research will generate the most comprehensive analysis of relationships and evolutionary history ever attempted for a group of vertebrates from its origins to the present. New morphological characters, new fossils, and DNA sequences from both the nucleus and mitochondria for all living species in the order Crocodylia will help to determine how the approximately 150 known crocodylian species (including fossils) are related and resolve relationships that are currently controversial or even unknown. These results will also help to compare patterns of molecular and anatomical evolution and explore the reasons molecules and fossils sometimes support different timing estimates, providing results that can be applied to other groups of organisms. They will also be critical to conservation efforts for crocodylians, all of which are threatened or endangered.This project is truly interdisciplinary, integrating expertise from two established crocodylian researchers (a morphologist/paleontologist and a molecular evolutionary biologist). This approach will extend to both graduate and undergraduate education, with students being exchanged between the respective programs so that different aspects of the research can be experienced first hand. These programs will produce a crop of well-rounded, well-trained young scientists from both the earth and life sciences.