| Affiliations: | Paleobiology, Evolution and Climate Laboratory |
| Project Leader: | James West jvwest25@tamu.edu Ecosystem Science and Management |
| Faculty Mentor: | Dr. A. Michelle Lawing, Ph.D. |
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Meeting Times:
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Team Size:
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3 (Team Full) |
| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Team members will have the opportunity to earn research experience and course credit (ESSM 491). Team members will learn about quanitative methods in ecology, evolution, and biogeography. Students may have the opportunity to develop research project within scope of the study with guidance from Team Leader and Faculty Mentor.
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Team Needs:
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Specific research experience or coursework is not required, but a willingness to learn is encouraged. Team members should have a positive attitude and good work ethic. Ideally, students should be able to commit between 5-10 hours a week to the team project including weekly meetings. Students majoring in a biological or life science are preferred, but all majors are welcome to apply.
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Description:
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Previous studies have demonstrated that strong associations exist between species morphology and local habitat characteristics. Morphological traits in horned lizards such as head size and limb length have been correlated with precipitation, temperature, and elevation. Reduction in horn size has also been suggest to co-occur with life history traits like viviparity. Understanding the extent to which climate and environment relate to variation and distribution of head morphology can provide insight into how species may respond to future climate change. Previous research on horned lizard morphology has used traditional morphometric techniques to capture shape and variation in specific species. This project seeks to quantify morphological shape and variation of the skull across the genus using 3D geometric morphometric methods.
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