Dissertation Research: Comparative Phylogeography and Speciation of Phrynosomatid Lizards of the Baja California Peninsula

下加利福尼亚是北美的一部分吗？最后的生物学前沿。在过去的600万年里，这个半岛沿着圣安德烈亚斯断层系统从墨西哥大陆分离出来。由于这种复杂的地质历史，下加利福尼亚是研究新物种进化的理想地点。然而，主要的困难在于解开地质和生态之间复杂的相互作用，以及它们对物种形成的影响。我们正在通过研究广泛分布在整个半岛的一个多样化的蜥蜴家族，采取综合的方法来解决这个问题。通过分析基因组数据，我们将对这一独特地区的物种起源有新的了解。作为一个生物多样性高的荒野地区，下加利福尼亚州是全球保护工作的重中之重。我们的研究将揭示下加利福尼亚和南加州蜥蜴物种遗传多样性的模式。这些模式是政府土地管理者的重要工具，他们有兴趣在有限的资源下记录和保护尽可能多的生物多样性。这项研究还需要来自圣地亚哥州立大学、加州大学河滨分校、国立汽车大学的研究人员进行有意义的国际合作。诺玛·德·梅&amp；#769；墨西哥、圣地亚哥自然历史博物馆和美国地质调查局。

Baja California is one of North America?s last biological frontiers. Over the past six million years, this peninsula rifted apart from mainland Mexico along the San Andreas Fault system. Due to this complex geological history, Baja California is an ideal location to study the evolution of new species. However, the chief difficulty lies in disentangling the complex interactions of geology and ecology, and their effect on speciation. We are taking an integrative approach to this problem by studying a diverse family of lizards that is widely distributed throughout the peninsula. By analyzing genomic data, we will shed new light on the origin of species in this unique region.As a high-biodiversity wilderness area, Baja California is a top priority for global conservation efforts. Our research will shed light on patterns of genetic diversity of lizard species in Baja California and southern California. These patterns are an important tool for government land managers interested in documenting and conserving as much biodiversity as possible with limited resources. This research also necessitates meaningful international collaboration involving researchers from San Diego State University, University of California, Riverside, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, San Diego Natural History Museum, and the U.S. Geological Survey.