Systematics and biogeography of lizards in the mainland Norops clade

生物学家主要关心的是发现和记录地球的生物多样性。 记录和调查生物体的进化关系是理解这种多样性的起源和分布以及其产生所涉及的力量的第一步。 Anolis属的蜥蜴是加勒比地区这类研究的模式生物。该项目旨在：1）了解大陆（中美洲和南美洲）anoles的进化关系，2）调查和解释这一大陆蜥蜴群的起源和分布。 为了实现这些目标，该项目将在广泛的分布范围内收集标本，并分析形态和分子数据，以测试这些蜥蜴的进化和分布的假设。 该项目涉及来自不同学科的研究生和本科生。生物学学生将接受实地和实验室技术培训，包括在国际会议上发表和介绍结果。完成博物馆研究未成年人（来自历史，艺术和人类学等不同专业）的学生将接受博物馆工作的日常任务的培训，从管理标本到开发该项目成果的展览。

A primary concern of biologists is the discovery and documentation of earth's biodiversity. Documentation and investigation of the evolutionary relationships of organisms are the first steps towards understanding the origin and distribution of that diversity and what forces were involved in its generation. Lizards of the genus Anolis are model organisms for such studies in the Caribbean. This project aims to: 1) understand the evolutionary relationships of mainland (Central and South American) anoles and 2) investigate and explain the origin and distribution of this mainland lizard group. To achieve these aims, the project will collect specimens across a broad distributional range and analyze morphological and molecular data to test hypotheses of the evolution and distribution of these lizards. The project involves graduate and undergraduate students from varied disciplines. Biology students will be trained in field and laboratory techniques, including publication and presentation of results at international meetings. Students completing a minor in Museum Studies (from diverse majors such as History, Art, and Anthropology) will be trained in the everyday tasks of museum work from managing specimens to developing exhibitions on the results of this project.