Dissertation Research

Hatchling collared lizard at our site.  Picture by ART

Male collared lizard... these guys should be renamed "Crotaphytus rex"!

Gravid marked female collared lizard... what a beauty!

Temporal Changes in Population Genetic Dynamics of the Eastern Collared Lizard, Crotaphytus collaris collaris, in response to Forest Fire Management

Eastern collared lizards, Crotaphytus collaris collaris, of the Missouri Ozarks live in glades - open, rocky habitat imbedded in a forest matrix. Recent fire suppression has degraded glades and made the forest an effective barrier to dispersal, leading to habitat destruction, fragmentation, and population isolation.  By 1980, after 30 years of fire suppression, no collared lizards existed at our study site including portions of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.  Populations were reintroduced in the 1980’s and surveyed nearly annually.  This area is now being managed with prescribed burns. Lizards have shown dramatic increases in dispersal, population size, and colonization of previously unoccupied glades following burn management. In addition to demographic and dispersal data, DNA samples have been collected from the founding populations until present. This unique data set will allow us to address how changes in fire management affect population genetic dynamics over time. Specifically, we will 1) document the effects of drift and gene flow on the levels of genetic diversity and 2) quantify the relationship between estimates of dispersal and gene flow. These data will contribute to our understanding of how habitat changes can affect genetic variation, and thus, long-term survival and evolutionary potential of a species.

Funding provided in part by:
The Canon National Parks Science Scholars Program (link here for more info)

Collared lizard-inhabited glade surrounded by forest in the Missouri Ozarks.