Fossil lizards tell tales : resurrecting the past to forecast the future
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Determining the factors that shape diversity and the persistence of species is a major aim of ecology and evolutionary biology, with direct conservation implications. Empirical data from present-day ecosystems have proven critical in characterizing how species interact with one another and their environment, but many of these studies lack a crucial element that would make them more applicable to projecting future dynamics: temporal resolution. I use Quaternary Caribbean lizards to investigate ecological theory about the repercussions of colonization and extinction on community structure. At a local scale, I find that the extinction of a large-bodied, predatory lizard, Leiocephalus, leads to ecological release in Anolis, a widespread Neotropical genus. This extinction is just one manifestation of a Caribbean-wide trend of size-biased and lineage-specific extinction, which results most dramatically in the extirpation of Leiocephalus from the Lesser Antilles, but also a loss of large-bodied lizards in other families. I then evaluate colonization events subsequent to extinction events in the Lesser Antilles. While I find that there are a few focal taxa that successfully colonize islands or are vulnerable to extirpation and extinction, the resulting communities are more heterogeneous than previous communities were. This contrasts with global trends of biotic homogenization and may reflect the realization of species richness-island area relationships in the Lesser Antilles. My results recapitulate empirical evidence from ongoing studies operating at ecological scales while also providing a glimpse into what the potential outcomes of continued colonization and extinctions will be during the Anthropocene.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2015 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Kemp, Melissa Elizabeth |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Biology. |
| Primary advisor | Hadly, Elizabeth Anne, 1958- |
| Thesis advisor | Hadly, Elizabeth Anne, 1958- |
| Thesis advisor | Fukami, Tadashi, 1972- |
| Thesis advisor | Palumbi, Stephen R |
| Thesis advisor | Payne, Jonathan L |
| Advisor | Fukami, Tadashi, 1972- |
| Advisor | Palumbi, Stephen R |
| Advisor | Payne, Jonathan L |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Melissa Elizabeth Kemp. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Biology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2015. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2015 by Melissa Elizabeth Kemp
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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