Meeting Abstract
Describing standing biodiversity and its evolutionary origins are major goals of modern biology. While molecular genetic tools provide immense power to explore phylogenetic relationships, these tools are not without limitations. By integrating multiple datasets, we can better resolve phylogenetic history, delineate species boundaries, and increase our understanding of how lineages have ecologically diverged. I used such an integrative approach to test predictions from competing phylogenetic hypotheses for southern and Panamint alligator lizards (Elgaria multicarinata and E. panamintina, respectively). Recent mtDNA evidence contradicts the traditional taxonomy of these lizards, calling the species status of E. panamintina into doubt, and suggesting that E. multicarinata might be composed of 2–4 cryptic species. First, I examined male genital morphology for evidence of reproductive isolation among putative clades. Next, I examined head morphology to assess potential ecological divergence. Finally, I further explored ecological divergence using species distribution modeling. My results support components of both the traditional and mitochondrial DNA phylogenies. All of my data support the species status of E. panamintina, and I suggest that the aberrant mtDNA phylogeny results from incomplete lineage sorting after peripatric speciation. In addition, My results support the existence of two divergent cryptic clades within E. multicarinata, as predicted by the mtDNA phylogeny. By integrating morphometric analyses and species distribution modeling with prior molecular data, I obtained phylogenetic inferences that were impossible with any available dataset in isolation.
