Exploration of the patterns and processes driving lineage diversification

Abstract

Lineages are constantly evolving, leading to the formation of distinct populations, and in some cases, species. In this dissertation, I explore three independent study systems that are at different stages of the speciation continuum, ranging from very recently diverged subpopulations to species-level diversity. This approach enables me to explore the genomic and life history characteristics driving diversification on multiple evolutionary levels. In Chapter 1, I focus on the genetic, morphological, and life history traits of a population of the Western Fence Lizard occurring at the northernmost extent of the distribution for the species. In Chapter 2, I focus on how interpopulation gene flow patterns correlate with distinct ecoregions in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico for the Western Banded Gecko. Lastly, in Chapter 3, I focus on the efficacy of current methodologies used for species delimitation in Southeast Asian geckos by testing these methods on three distinct species of bent-toed geckos occurring in Borneo. Exploring these three distinct study systems adds valuable insight into the evolution of natural organisms with unique evolutionary pressures across multiple time scales.