UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara Studies of Ecology And
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara Studies of Ecology and Morphology in the plethodontid salamander genus Batrachoseps A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology by Christopher James Evelyn Committee in charge: Professor Samuel S. Sweet, Chair Professor Stephen I. Rothstein Professor Elizabeth L. Jockusch June 2016 The dissertation of Christopher James Evelyn is approved. ____________________________________________ Elizabeth L. Jockusch ____________________________________________ Stephen I. Rothstein ____________________________________________ Samuel S. Sweet, Committee Chair March, 2016 Studies of Ecology and Morphology in the plethodontid salamander genus Batrachoseps Copyright © 2016 by Christopher J. Evelyn iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents Christine and Joseph, and to my grandparents, Mary and John, and Ruth and Jerome. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Only with the support of my family was I able to attempt and complete this dissertation. I’d like to acknowledge Laurie and Darwin for their love and patience, and my parents and sister for their love and support throughout the years this dissertation took to complete. Samuel S. Sweet provided me with an amazing opportunity here at the University of California Santa Barbara. Dr. Sweet continues to push me to think and write more clearly while synthesizing the roles of ecology, evolution, and natural history in the patterns we observe in nature. Thank you Sam for all the hours we spent together in the field and the lab. Stephen B. Rothstein opened up his lab group to me and listened to my ideas when they were in their most formative stages. The feedback and support from Dr. Rothstein and his lab were invaluable to my development as a researcher. Collectively they pushed me to be disciplined and interpret my findings in the framework of established evolutionary theory. Elizabeth L. Jockusch continues to be an important mentor and collaborator as we work to understand the evolution and ecology of Batrachoseps . Dr. Jockusch donated her time and experience to educate me on genetic techniques and her toughness in the field is inspiring. Dr. Jockusch provided insightful and helpful feedback on all the papers that appear in this document, and taught me to be mindful in my approach to writing. Iñigo Martínez-Solano and Dr. Jockusch provided morphological and genetic data that was the backbone of my inquiries. Mark Wilber provided valuable coding help for the analysis in Chapter 3. Many members of the Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology department helped guide and influence me throughout this process. I’d like to especially acknowledge the Evolution Group, Todd Oakley and his lab, John Labonte, and John Damuth. The EEMB graduate v students were consistently inspiring, selfless, and supportive. I’d also like to acknowledge our incoming 2007 cohort in particular. I reached out to several people outside of the EEMB department for support and advice throughout is process. Faculty and staff at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California Berkeley, provided feedback on my ideas as well as specimens for morphological measurements. Guidance from David B. Wake, Marvalee H. Wake, Michelle S. Koo, Carol L. Spencer, and Theodore J. Papenfuss deserve acknowledgement. Frank W. Davis at UC Santa Barbara was my master’s advisor at the Bren School and continues to provide sound advice when I am in need. Steve M. Deban at the University of South Florida and his lab hosted me and guided me through data collection for comparative studies. Robert W. Hansen provided his wonderful field notes and advice, both of which were extremely valuable. Tom Maloney and Mike White also provided advice and support through the trials of my field studies on Tejon Ranch. A number of people assisted me in the field with data collection or other support. Help in the field was provided by Sara Baguskus, Nathan Derieg, James Hansmeyer, Rich Hartigan, Christopher Hearst, Laurie Henry, Cole Paris, Ronald Rose, Brent Safranski, Thomas Smith, Samuel Sweet, and the North America Field Herping Association. Support and access to field sites were provided by California State Parks, the Campe family, the Chanley family, The Nature Conservancy, Ranchers for Responsible Conservation, and the United States Forest Service. The majority of field data for this project was collected on the Cattani Ranch and Tejon Ranch Conservancy lands. Without the access and support of the Tejon Ranch Conservancy and the Cattani family this project would not have been possible. Special acknowledgement to the Henry family, Yolanda Crous, Finn Rebbassoo, Justin Clark, Christine Lewis, Liane Davis, James McFadden and family, and Robin Williams. vi VITA OF CHRISTOPHER JAMES EVELYN March 2016 EDUCATION 2007- 2016 Doctor of Philosophy, Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology 2005- 2007 Master of Environmental Science and Management: Conservation Planning University of California, Santa Barbara The Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management 1995- 1999 Bachelor of Arts: Urban Studies and Classics Loyola Marymount University Department of Liberal Arts SELECTED WRITEN WORK 2012 Evelyn, C. J. and S. S. Sweet. 2012. Conservation status of amphibians and reptiles on USDA National Forests, Pacific Southwest Region. USDA National Forest Service, Region 5. Final Report. 536p. 2015 Evelyn, C. J. 2015. Herpetological surveys on The Nature Conservancy Conservation Areas in 2015, Caliente Ranch, Parker Ranch, and Tollhouse Ranch. Prepared for Zach Principe. The Nature Conservancy. Report. 13p. 2015 Sweet, S. S. and C. J. Evelyn. 2015. Batrachoseps robustus USFWS comment. Comment on the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Notice: 90-Day Finding on Petition to list Kern Plateau Salamander Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as Amended. ID: FWS-R8-ES-2015-0093-0004. 2007 Crous, Y, C. J. Evelyn, H. Mueller, R. Larkin, T. Perry. Conserving Monterey County’s Ranchlands: Trends and Strategies. Master’s Thesis. University of California, Santa Barbara. 131p. SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2014 Lecturer. Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology Department, University of California Santa Barbara. Course: Herpetology lab. 2013 Guest lecturer. Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology Department, University of California Santa Barbara. Course: Evolution and Ecology of Terrestrial Vertebrates. vii 2005- Teaching Assistant, Department of Ecology Evolution and Marine Biology. 2014 University of California, Santa Barbara. Courses: Herpetology, Evolution and Ecology of Terrestrial Vertebrates, Vertebrate Evolutionary Morphology, Invertebrate Zoology, Introduction to Biology, Disease Ecology. 2007 Science Technician I Amphibians/Streams Crew. The Nature Conservancy, Astoria, OR. 2000- Assistant Planner, Department of Regional Planning. Los Angeles County, Los 2002 Angeles, CA. GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS, SUPPORT 2014 UCSB Doctoral Student Travel Grant, Plethodontids Conference 2014, Tulsa, OK. 2013 Vertnet Biodiversity Informatics Training Workshop Fellowship, Boulder CO. 2013 Bureau of Land Management: Terrestrial Salamander Surveys on BLM lands in the southern Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, and Piute Mountains, $500. 2009- The Nature Conservancy: Study of slender salamanders in Walker Basin, Piute 2015 Mountains (genus Batrachoseps ), $1,500/ year. 2009- Tejon Ranch Conservancy: Study of Tehachapi slender salamander ( Batrachoseps 2011 stebbinsi ) on Tejon Ranch, $21,000, 2009-2011. 2010 UCSB Dept. of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Doctoral Student Travel Grant. Used for collaborative work with Steve Deban on feeding mechanism in Batrachoseps and Elizabeth Jockusch on genetic studies in Batrachoseps , $400. 2005- Dean Witter Foundation grant in Conservation. Conserving Monterey County’s 2007 Ranchland: Trends and Strategies, $10,000. TALKS 2015 Amphibian Task Force California and Nevada, Malibu CA Title: Challenges and opportunities: Evaluating the conservation status of amphibians in California 2014 Southwest Partners in Amphibian Research and Conservation, SWPARC Title: Biology and conservation of the slender salamanders ( Batrachoseps ) 2014 Plethodontids 2014 Conference Title: Species range size and morphology of the slender salamanders 2013 Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Herpetology Group, UC Berkeley viii Title: Why do these things have limbs anyway, morphological evolution in Slender salamanders, genus Batrachoseps 2012 Kern County Planning Department Title: Impact of wind farm development on salamander habitat in Kern County Co-authored and presented with Samuel S. Sweet LEADERSHIP AND AWARDS 2008- Member, Graduate Student Advisory Committee, UC Santa Barbara 2011 2009 Coordinator, EEMB Graduate Student Symposium UC Santa Barbara 2005 Restoration Intern, Arroyo Hondo Preserve, Santa Barbara County 1999 TWI Certified Teambuilding Facilitator and High Ropes Course Coordinator 1998- President, Urban Studies Society, Loyola Marymount University 1999 1998- NCAA National Student Athlete Award, National Collegiate Athletic Association 1999 AFFILIATIONS American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR); Herpetologists League (HL); American Society of Icthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH); Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) ix Studies of Ecology and Morphology