Evolution of Asian frogs of the Polypedates leucomystax complex

The Asian whipping frog Polypedates leucomystax is widely distributed throughout Indochina. It is a habitat generalist found in everything from undisturbed forest to garbage piles. Researchers have suspected for some time that P. leucomystax is actually composed of several cryptic lineages, but there have been few comprehensive molecular investigations conducted to determine the extent of genetic diversity present. Therefore I have been working with researchers in Canada, Russia, and China in order to test several hypotheses pertaining to the evolution of P. leucomystax throughout Indochina.

 

Sensitivity analysis for detecting barriers to gene flow using simulated landscape genetic data

Landscape genetics is still a relatively young field and with so many methods of analysis to chose from it can be difficult to determine the best approach for a specific question. In collaboration with researchers from across North America and Europe, we are performing a sensitivity analysis with spatially-explicit simulated landscape genetic data to determine which methods appear superior for documenting a recent, linear barrier to gene flow. We are particularly interested in if certain methods appear superior across multiple data sets or if the sensitivity of a method depends on the structure of a particular data set.    

   

 

Determining the phylogenetic placement of an enigmatic snake from Vietnam

A recent study described a new genus and species of snake from Vietnam (Orlov et al. 2009). This new snake, Colubroelaps nguyenvansangi, exhibits morphological characters intermediate between colubrid and elapid snakes. Using new molecular sequences along with GenBank sequences, we aim to elucidate the phylogenetic position of this new taxon to determine its evolutionary affinities.

 

The utility of morphometric characters in discriminating between closely related species of reptiles

In collaboration with Dr. Tiffany M. Doan (Central Connecticut State University) we have been investigating the role of morphometric characters in discriminating between lizards of the genus Proctoporus. These are high elevation lizards found throughout the Peruvian Andes. Because morphological identification of species can be difficult, particularly to those not familiar with a particular group, these results can be useful to researchers in ecology, behavior, and physiology who may not have the taxonomic expertise for rapid identification in the field.