Díaz Lameiro, Alondra María

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Mitochondrial phylogeny of Sphaerodactylus species endemic to islands in the Mona Passage and its biogeographical implications
(2011) Díaz Lameiro, Alondra María; Martínez Cruzado, Juan C.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Oleksyk, Taras K.; Bird Picó, Fernando J.; Department of Biology; Quiñones, Carlos E.
Little is known about the natural history of the Sphaerodactylus species endemic to the three islands located in the Mona Passage, mostly because of the logistics of getting to the islands and because of the cryptic behavior of the organisms. In this study, two mitochondrial genes, 16s rRNA and 12s rRNA, were sequenced to determine the relationships between the Sphaerodactylids that live on the Mona Passage and other Caribbean individuals from the same genus. The main goal of this study is to identify the biogeographical origin of these animals. From the results of our study, we propose Puerto Rico as their origin, although Hispaniola still remains a possibility. Using phylogenetic trees and haplotype networks, it was determined that the closest living relative to both, Sphaerodactylus monensis and S. levinsi, is S. nicholsi from southwestern Puerto Rico. This study also suggests that the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) between the species from islands in the Mona Passage and Puerto Rico existed approximately 3 MYA.