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Home Fitzpatrick Lab C.V. |
PublicationsMiller, B.T., M.L. Niemiller, and R. Graham Reynolds. In Press. Observations on egg-laying behavior and interactions among attending female Red Salamanders (Pseudotriton ruber) with comments on the use of caves by this species. Herpetological Conservation and Biology Reynolds, R.G. (In Press). Conspecific necrophagy. Leiocephalus psammodromus. (Turks and Caicos Curly-Tailed Lizard). Herpetological Review. Niemiller, M.L., B.T. Miller, R.G. Reynolds, and J.G. Reynolds. (In Press). Subterranean nest. Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus (Northern Spring Salamander). Herpetological Review. Reynolds, R. Graham and B. M. Fitzpatrick. 2007. Assortative mating in poison-dart frogs based on an ecologically important trait. Evolution. 61: 2253-2259. Current ProjectsProject Titles:  Local extinction and recolonization may have profound effects on the apportioning of genetic variation within and among local populations, and these dynamical processes remain difficult to evaluate given the large time scales over which they occur. The ability to test for extinction and recolonization could significantly aid in the understanding of genetic and demographic processes operating on islands and hence give a more clear view of evolution and ecology of organisms on islands. Genetic bottlenecks occur when a population of organisms undergoes a moderate to severe reduction in its effective population size (Ne), or number of reproductive individuals, and constitutes a deviation from population mutation-drift equilibrium (MDE). Recent bottlenecks can be detected by examining allele frequencies at polymorphic loci within an extant population and testing for reduced allele number and heterozygosity compared to that expected for an equilibrium population. Detection of recent bottlenecks in island populations would indicate that the population was either significantly reduced and recovered, or became extinct and the island was recolonized by a small founder group from nearby islands. These alternatives can be distinguished through analyses of gene genealogies in a coalescent framework. Estimation of extinction and recolonization rates using bottleneck probabilities has been little studied and mostly used in a qualitative fashion. I propose a more quantitative predictive approach that can be applied to genetic data from island organisms. My dissertation research addresses the following objectives: Objective 1: Determine whether populations of an archipelagic species are in MDE. If not, determine whether gene genealogies favor founder effects (extinction and recolonization) or in situ bottlenecks (reduction and recovery of extant populations without recolonization). Objective 2: If no founder effects are detected, determine whether gene genealogies support ongoing gene flow among islands or complete isolation. One reason extinction and recolonization might not seem to be important is if dispersal rescues populations and prevents extinction. I will use Bayesian and likelihood approaches to quantify relative support for alternative models fitted to DNA sequence data. Funding: 2008 Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid, 2008 American Museum of Natural History- Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund Grant in Support of Research, 2008 UTK EEB Summer Research Grant 
 Funding: 2007 UTK EEB Summer Research Grant 
I am also beginning an outreach program to provide education materials to organizations within the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos with the hope of gaining local help in the conservation of native reptiles and amphibians. Funding: 2008 W.K. McClure Scholarship for the Study of World Affairs TCI Snakes Brochure for National Environmental Centre 
 The Fitzpatrick Lab and I are currently investigating genetic differences among populations of Plethodon dorsalis in a rough transect from the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to locations near Nashville, TN using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs). Past Projects
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