DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Using Anchored Phylogenomics to Test the Validity of Suture Zones and Refugia Through Comparative Phylogeography of Amphibians

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The processes that promote species diversity are of central importance in evolutionary biology. Suture zones are defined as geographic regions of overlap between multiple pairs of species or lineages that may hybridize in the zone. These areas are of great interest as natural laboratories to study speciation. The leading hypothesis explaining the formation of suture zones is that past changes in climate caused lineages to be isolated in refugia and subsequently expand into areas of overlap. It is unclear, however, whether suture zones are a general phenomenon across all species. This project will combine recent advances in sequencing technology and geographic information systems to: (1) test whether predicted patterns of suture zones exist across multiple frog species in the Southeastern U.S., and (2) test the leading hypothesis explaining their formation. This study will apply a novel method of data collection, anchored phylogenomics, to sequence hundreds of genetic markers across four co-distributed species. This will develop the foundation for future studies to build on a comparative dataset by including the same genomic regions for additional species, providing a powerful way to test the factors underlying spatial genetic variation. The project provides opportunities to promote training of graduate and undergraduate students, assist state wildlife agencies with monitoring amphibian populations, and contribute knowledge to issues of societal concern such as the organismal response to climate change.