- Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
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Quaternary climatic oscillations caused changes in sea level that altered the size, number, and degree of isolation of islands, particularly in land-bridge archipelagoes. Elucidating the demographic effects of these oscillations increases... more
Quaternary climatic oscillations caused changes in sea level that altered the size, number, and degree of isolation of islands, particularly in land-bridge archipelagoes. Elucidating the demographic effects of these oscillations increases our understanding of the role of climate change in shaping evolutionary processes in archipelagoes. The Puerto Rican Bank (Puerto Rico and the Eastern Islands, which comprise Vieques, Culebra, the Virgin Islands, and associated islets) in the eastern Caribbean Sea periodically coalesced during glaciations and fragmented during interglacial periods of the Quaternary. To explore population-level consequences of sea level changes, we studied the phylogeography of the frog Eleutherodactylus antillensis across the archipelago. We tested hypotheses encompassing vicariance and dispersal narratives by sequencing mtDNA (ca. 552 bp) of 285 individuals from 58 localities, and four nuDNA introns (totaling ca. 1,633 bp) from 173 of these individuals. We found low support for a hypothesis of divergence of the Eastern Islands populations prior to the start of the penultimate interglacial ca. 250 kya, and higher support for a hypothesis of colonization of the Eastern Islands from sources in eastern Puerto Rico during the penultimate and last glacial period, when a land-bridge united the Puerto Rican Bank. The Río Grande de Loíza Basin in eastern Puerto Rico delineates a phylogeographic break. Haplotypes shared between the Puerto Rican Bank and St. Croix (an island ca. 105 km southeast of this archipelago) likely represent human-mediated introductions. Our findings illustrate how varying degrees of connectivity and isolation influence the evolution of tropical island organisms
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Alligned ND2 sequences in a fasta format for Anolis krugi, Anolis pulchellus and outgroups
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Aligned ND4 locus originally from Rodríguez-Robles JA, DeNardo DF, Staub RE (1999) Phylogeography of the California mountain kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata (Colubridae). Molecular Ecology 8, 1923-1934
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Anonymous nuclear locus collected for L. zonata
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Phylogeographic inference can determine the timing of population divergence, historical demographic processes, patterns of migration, and when extended to multiple species, the history of communities. Single locus analyses can mislead... more
Phylogeographic inference can determine the timing of population divergence, historical demographic processes, patterns of migration, and when extended to multiple species, the history of communities. Single locus analyses can mislead interpretations of the evolutionary history of taxa and comparative analyses. It is therefore important to revisit previous single-locus phylogeographic studies, particularly those that have been used to propose general patterns for regional biotas and the processes responsible for generating inferred patterns. Here we employ a multilocus statistical approach to re-examine the phylogeography of Lampropeltis zonata. Using nonparametic and Bayesian species delimitation, we determined that there are two well supported species within L. zonata. Ecological niche modeling supports the delimitation of these taxa, suggesting that the two species inhabit distinct climatic environments. Gene flow between the two taxa is low, and appears to occur unidirectionally. Further, our data suggest that gene flow was mediated by females, a rare pattern in snakes. In contrast to previous analyses, we determined that the divergence between the two lineages occurred in the late Pliocene (ca. 2.07 ma). Spatially and temporally, the divergence of these lineages is associated with the inundation of central California by the Monterey Bay. The effective population sizes of the two species appear to have been unaffected by Pleistocene glaciation. Our increased sampling of loci for L. zonata, combined with previously published multi-locus analyses of other sympatric species, suggest that previous conclusions reached by comparative phylogeographic studies conducted within the California Floristic Province should be reassessed
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... the Australasian Fordonia leucobalia (Shine, 1991), and the West Indian Alsophis portoricensis (Thomas and Prieto-Hernandez, 1985; Rodriguez-Robles, 1992 ... The South American col-ubridClelia clelia is immune to the venoms of the... more
... the Australasian Fordonia leucobalia (Shine, 1991), and the West Indian Alsophis portoricensis (Thomas and Prieto-Hernandez, 1985; Rodriguez-Robles, 1992 ... The South American col-ubridClelia clelia is immune to the venoms of the pitvipers of the genus Bothrops (sensu lato ...
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... on the Feeding Behavior of the Puerto Rican Racer, Alsophis portoricensis (Serpentes: Colubridae) JAVIER A. RODRiGUEZ-ROBLES, Department of ... A number of colubrids are constrictors (eg, Clelia, Elaphe, Lampropeltis, Pituophis),... more
... on the Feeding Behavior of the Puerto Rican Racer, Alsophis portoricensis (Serpentes: Colubridae) JAVIER A. RODRiGUEZ-ROBLES, Department of ... A number of colubrids are constrictors (eg, Clelia, Elaphe, Lampropeltis, Pituophis), whereas others (eg, Alsophis, Dispholidus ...
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... RAND, AS 1964. Ecological distribution in anoline lizards of Puerto Rico. Ecology 45:745-752.Rocco, G. 1988. Feeding behavior of the mangrove snake (Boiga dendrophila). Unpubl. ... (eds.), Biology of the Pitvipers, pp. 199-216. Selva,... more
... RAND, AS 1964. Ecological distribution in anoline lizards of Puerto Rico. Ecology 45:745-752.Rocco, G. 1988. Feeding behavior of the mangrove snake (Boiga dendrophila). Unpubl. ... (eds.), Biology of the Pitvipers, pp. 199-216. Selva, Tyler, Texas. SCHOENER, TW 1971. ...
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Page 1. Copeia, 1992(1), pp. 62-68 Venom Function in the Puerto Rican Racer, Alsophis portoricensis (Serpentes: Colubridae) JAVIER A. RODRIGUEZ-ROBLES AND RICHARD THOMAS Alsophis portoricensis is an opisthomegadont ...
Research Interests: Zoology, Biology, Feeding Ecology, Predation, Digestion, and 4 moreSnakes, Colubridae, Prey, and Ecological Applications
... JAVIER A. RODRIGUEZ-ROBLES ... and Turner, 1980; Maxson, 1981; Wellstead, 1981; Reynolds and Scott, 1982; Tennant, 1984; Marr, 1985; Howitz, 1986; Glup and McDaniel, 1988; Eichholz and Koenig, 1992; McCallum et al., 1995; Diller and... more
... JAVIER A. RODRIGUEZ-ROBLES ... and Turner, 1980; Maxson, 1981; Wellstead, 1981; Reynolds and Scott, 1982; Tennant, 1984; Marr, 1985; Howitz, 1986; Glup and McDaniel, 1988; Eichholz and Koenig, 1992; McCallum et al., 1995; Diller and Wal-lace, 1966;Jennings et al ...
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Page 1. Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 87-92, 1999 Copyright 1999 Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Food Habits of the Glossy Snake, Arizona elegans, with Comparisons to the Diet of Sympatric Long-nosed Snakes,... more
Page 1. Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 87-92, 1999 Copyright 1999 Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Food Habits of the Glossy Snake, Arizona elegans, with Comparisons to the Diet of Sympatric Long-nosed Snakes, Rhinocheilus lecontei ...
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Reproductive tradeoff limits the predatory
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Research Interests: Systematics (Taxonomy), Nonparametric Statistics, Phylogeography, Gene Flow, Population Genetics, and 15 moreBiology, Ecology, Fish population genetics, Medicine, Molecular Ecology, Biological Sciences, California, Population, Female, Animals, Snakes, Population Density, Colubridae, Sympatric Speciation, and Bayes Theorem
Page 1. Copeia, 1995(1), pp. 155-161 Antipredator Responses of Anolis cristatellus (Sauria: Polychrotidae) MANUEL LEAL AND JAVIER A. RODRIGUEZ-ROBLES The Puerto Rican lizard Anolis cristatellus exhibited 13 different ...
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Page 1. Copeia, 1999(1), pp. 93-100 Feeding Ecology of the Desert Nightsnake, Hypsiglena torquata (Colubridae) JAVIER A. RODRIGUEZ-ROBLES, DANIEL G. MULCAHY, AND HARRY W. GREENE ... Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 83:297-426. BROOKS, DR, AND DA... more
Page 1. Copeia, 1999(1), pp. 93-100 Feeding Ecology of the Desert Nightsnake, Hypsiglena torquata (Colubridae) JAVIER A. RODRIGUEZ-ROBLES, DANIEL G. MULCAHY, AND HARRY W. GREENE ... Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 83:297-426. BROOKS, DR, AND DA MCLENNAN. 1991. ...
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This biographical account summarizes the professional career and scientific contributions of John Paul Richard Thomas, a contemporary leading figure in the systematics of West Indian amphibians and non‐avian reptiles, especially of blind... more
This biographical account summarizes the professional career and scientific contributions of John Paul Richard Thomas, a contemporary leading figure in the systematics of West Indian amphibians and non‐avian reptiles, especially of blind snakes of the families Typhlopidae and Leptotyphlopidae. Since his first expedition to the West Indies in 1957, Richard's vast field experience (including three trips to Peru between 1968 and 1974), impressive collecting skills, and remarkable ability to detect phenotypic variation among natural populations have resulted in the description of more than 70 species of snakes (24 typhlopids, 4 leptotyphlopids), lizards, and frogs in 16 genera and 11 taxonomic families. Richard joined the faculty of the Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, in 1976 and ever since his efforts significantly advanced organismal biology research at the institution. Although primarily a systematist, his desire to understand multiple aspects of an organism's biology and contagious passion for becoming intimately familiar with animals in their natural environments provided his students the opportunity to conduct research in fields such as behavioral and evolutionary ecology. Richard's mentoring fostered the scientific interests of his graduate students, who were exposed first‐hand to every aspect of research, an invaluable experience that served as a springboard for the development of their professional careers inside and outside academia. This Commentary is a fitting tribute to an influential, unassuming scientist whose passion for turning over rocks has led to the discovery of many interesting species.
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Alligned and phased nuclear DNAH3 sequences for A. pulchellus, A. krugi and outgroup
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Phased nexus file for anonymous locus CL4, Lampropeltis zonat
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For ectotherms, environmental temperatures influence numerous life history characteristics, and the body temperatures (Tb ) selected by individuals can affect offspring fitness and parental survival. Reproductive trade-offs may therefore... more
For ectotherms, environmental temperatures influence numerous life history characteristics, and the body temperatures (Tb ) selected by individuals can affect offspring fitness and parental survival. Reproductive trade-offs may therefore ensue for gravid females, because temperatures conducive to embryonic development may compromise females' body condition. We tested whether reproduction influenced thermoregulation in female Arizona Bark Scorpions (Centruroides sculpturatus). We predicted that gravid females select higher Tb and thermoregulate more precisely than nonreproductive females. Gravid C. sculpturatus gain body mass throughout gestation, which exposes larger portions of their pleural membrane, possibly increasing their rates of transcuticular water loss in arid environments. Accordingly, we tested whether gravid C. sculpturatus lose water faster than nonreproductive females. We determined the preferred Tb of female scorpions in a thermal gradient and measured water loss...
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Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Conservation, Conservation Genetics, Gene Flow, and 15 moreBiology, Medicine, Genetic Diversity, Conservation Status, Haplotypes, Maximum Likelihood, Genetic Structure, Lizards, Animals, Genetic Differentiation, Cytochrome B, Geographic distribution, Genetic variation, Conservation of Natural Resources, and DNA sequence
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Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Biology, Biogeography, Medicine, and 15 moreMitochondrial DNA, Haplotypes, Animals, Key words, Molecular phylogenetics, National Park, Geographic distribution, Allopatric Speciation, Boidae, Genetic variation, Maximum Parsimony, Mitochondrial, Likelihood Functions, Current Distribution, and Maximum Likelihood Method
Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Zoology, Molecular Systematics, Molecular Evolution, and 15 moreBiology, Medicine, Phylogeny, Mitochondrial DNA, Central America, Animals, Snakes, New World, Colubridae, Molecular phylogenetics, North America, western United States, Maximum Parsimony, Likelihood Functions, and Maximum Likelihood Method
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Habitat selection can directly affect the fitness of an individual and the evolutionary dynamics of the population to which that organism belongs. We studied habitat use of the Puerto Rican yellow-chinned anole (Anolis gundlachi Peters,... more
Habitat selection can directly affect the fitness of an individual and the evolutionary dynamics of the population to which that organism belongs. We studied habitat use of the Puerto Rican yellow-chinned anole (Anolis gundlachi Peters, 1876) to examine whether this arboreal lizard uses its environment in a nonrandom manner. Males and females preferred woody vegetation substrates over nonwoody plants and sierra palms (Prestoea acuminata var. montana (Graham) A. Henderson and G. Galeano) as perching sites, and they also selected wider vegetation than what was randomly available. Selection for minimizing conspicuousness to potential predators and for increased locomotion capacity may help explain the preference for woody substrates and broader surfaces, respectively. Anolis gundlachi relies almost exclusively on visual cues for foraging and social interactions, and using wider perches also increases an individual's ability to scan a larger proportion of its territory. Our findings...