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Phylogeography of the Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma Platyrhinos) and the Short-Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma Douglassi): Patterns of Divergence and Diversity

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Phylogeography of the Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma Platyrhinos) and the Short-Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma Douglassi): Patterns of Divergence and Diversity UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-1994 Phylogeography of the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) and the short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi): Patterns of divergence and diversity Kenneth Bruce Jones University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Jones, Kenneth Bruce, "Phylogeography of the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) and the short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi): Patterns of divergence and diversity" (1994). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2987. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/hcai-vpf6 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the qualify of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the boot Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Z eeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 PHYLOGEOGRAPHY OF THE DESERT HORNED LIZARD (PHRYNOSOMA PLATYRHINOS1 AND THE SHORT-HORNED LIZARD (PHRYNOSOMA DOUGLASSD: PATTERNS OF DIVERGENCE AND DIVERSITY by Kenneth Bruce Jones A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Biology Department of Biological Studies University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 1995 UMI Number: 9614365 UMI Microform 9614365 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. A11 rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 ®1996 Kenneth Bruce Jones All Rights Reserved The Thesis of Kenneth Bruce Jones for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Biology is approved. Chairperson, Brett R. Riddle, Ph.D. Examining Committee Member, Daniel B. Thompson, Ph.D. Examining Committee Member, Stanley D. Smith, Ph.D. Examining Committee Member, James H. Brown, Ph.D. Graduate Faculty Representative, Frederick Bachhuber, Ph.D. Interim Dean, Graduate College, Cheryl L. Bowles, Ed.D ABSTRACT Historical environmental change is thought to have played an important role in the diversification of the biota of western North America. Many patterns of diversification have been associated with glacial-interglacial cycles of the latest Pleistocene. Recent evidence on diversification patterns in small mammals suggests a response to older environmental change, especially the uplift of the western North American cordillera. To evaluate the relative influence of old and recent historical environmental change on lineage diversification, mitochondrial DNA molecular phylogeographies of Phrvnosoma douelassi (the short-homed lizard) and Phrvnosoma platvrhinos (the desert homed lizard) were analyzed. Both species are widespread and have relatively old histories in western North America. P. douelassi and R platvrhinos demonstrated multiple scales of lineage diversification representating responses to relatively old and recent historical environmental change. Deep levels of divergence in P. douelassi were structured geographically among Kuchler Physiographic regions and were temporally concordant with the late Tertiary uplift of the western North American cordillera. Significant phylogenetic gaps between regions suggest long-term barriers to gene flow among regions. P. platvrhinos demonstrated a deep divergence between the southern Sonoran Desert and the remainder of the species’ range. With the assumption of 2% divergence per million years, this divergence roughly corresponds to the Bouse Embayment, a large lake incursion that divided areas east and west of the Colorado River during the Pliocene. Assuming a roughly consistent rate of molecular evolution, both species exhibit divergence depths within regions indicative of response to Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles. The depth of lineage diversity in P. douelassi and P. platvrhinos was concordant with a model of habitat change during the last glacial maximum. Regions that maintained large patches of suitable habitat during the last glacial maximum had deep levels of divergence whereas regions that lost large areas of suitable habitat had shallow levels of within-region divergence. The phylogeographic patterns of P. douelassi and P. platvrhinos. and results of simulated habitat change, do not support a model of mass habitat shift to the south in response to glaciation. Rather, results of this study suggest that suitable habitats and populations persisted in many areas within the current ranges of both species ranges during the last glacial maximum, although the distribution of P. platvrhinos was more limited. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES....................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................1 Molecular Phylogeography .................................................................................... 5 The Western United States as a Study Area ............................................................9 Woodland and Desert Taxa as Indicators of Concordance between Environmental Change and Lineage Divergence ............................................ 11 Phrvnosoma platvrhinos and Phrvnosoma douelassi as Indicators of Lineage Response to Historical Environmental Change ............................13 Hypotheses .............................................................................................................15 CHAPTER 2 PHYLOGEOGRAPHY OF PHRYNOSOMA DOUGLASSI..................18 Introduction ...........................................................................................................18 Methods and Materials .......................................................................................... 22 DNA Extraction ........................................................................................ 24 PCR Amplification .................................................................................. 25 RFLP Digestion of Amplified mtDNA Fragments ..................................27 Sequencing Procedure .............................................................................. 28 Data Analysis ............................................................................................ 29 Restriction-Site Data Analysis ......................................................29 Sequence Data Analysis ................................................................32 R esults.................................................................................................................. 36 Distribution and Ecology .......................................................................... 36 Phylogenetic Relationships and Phylogeography - Restriction-site Analysis ..............................................................39 Discussion ............................................................................................................ 59 Phylogeographic Patterns ..........................................................................63
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