Evolutionary Ecology of Freshwater Turtles

This long-term study explores the evolution of life history traits(e.g. reproductive traits such as mating system, migratory behavior,sex determination, demography) and the footprint that those traits leave on the genetic makeup of populations(e.g. genetic differentiation, gene flow) to understand the ecological and evolutionary significance of trait variation, and to provide information important for the conservation of reptiles, particularly turtles. The project consists of several phases that investigate complementary ecological and evolutionary modules related to this main goal. Those modules are: population genetics, paternity analyses, gene expression during sex differentiation, and molecular evolution of genes and chromosomes.