GIFFORD, M. E.**; LARSON, A.; Washington University, St. Louis; Washington University, St. Louis: Consequences of recent secondary contact between lineages of Ameiva chrysolaema in the Dominican Republic

Historic climate fluctuations have been implicated as playing a significant role in structuring genetic variation within and between species. Repeated expansion and contraction of organismal ranges has has caused many instances of secondary contact among divergent population lineages or species. Upon secondary contact these lineages may either maintain their identity due to evolved differences in allopatry or begin to merge and become a single lineage. In this study we use a multilocus approach to examine the consequences of a recent secondary contact between lineages of Ameiva chrysolaema, a large teiid lizard from Hispaniola. In addition, morphological variation is examined across the contact zone to test whether the patterns of variation observed are consistent with a prevailing environmental gradient. By comparing morphological and molecular cline shapes, we examine the relative role of environmental variation in maintaining each cline. These data represent preliminary analyses of a portion of the presenting author’s Ph.D. thesis.