Shane Campbell-Staton
Ph.D Student
Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Museum of Comparative Zoology
Harvard University
26 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel : 617-496-XXXX (Office)
Fax : 617-495-5667
Email : scampbellstaton@oeb.harvard.edu
Research Interests
I am interested in genome
evolution and physiological adaptation in response to geographic
climate differences, mainly temperature and humidity. Geographic and
temporal climate change can produce various environmental stresses
for all species. How
organisms deal with these changes, especially near their physiological
limits, has strong ecological and evolutionary consequences. My
research seeks to explore the mechanisms that allow populations within
a species to move across climate gradients and the influence of these
events on evolutionary trajectories.
Green anole (Anolis carolinensis)
The green anole, Anolis carolinensis, is the only member of its genus native to the U.S, where it arrived around 3.5 Mya. Since its establishment, it has migrated from Florida into temperate regions of Tennessee and North Carolina where cold is a major physiological pressure and as far west as Texas, where water loss becomes a more significant factor for biological function. For my thesis I am exploring the roles of genetic drift, adaptation, and phenotypic plasticity in allowing this species to move into such variable habitat types. Towards this aim, I am integrating molecular evolution, environmental niche modeling, and experimental physiology to define abiotic pressures and quantify compensatory mechanisms of the species on the molecular and phenotypic level throughout its native range.
Green anole (Anolis carolinensis)
The green anole, Anolis carolinensis, is the only member of its genus native to the U.S, where it arrived around 3.5 Mya. Since its establishment, it has migrated from Florida into temperate regions of Tennessee and North Carolina where cold is a major physiological pressure and as far west as Texas, where water loss becomes a more significant factor for biological function. For my thesis I am exploring the roles of genetic drift, adaptation, and phenotypic plasticity in allowing this species to move into such variable habitat types. Towards this aim, I am integrating molecular evolution, environmental niche modeling, and experimental physiology to define abiotic pressures and quantify compensatory mechanisms of the species on the molecular and phenotypic level throughout its native range.
Recent Publications
Shane C. Campbell-Staton, R. M. Goodman, N. Backström, S. V. Edwards, J. B. Losos, J. J. Kolbe. 2012. Out of Florida: mtDNA reveals patterns of migration and Pleistocene range expansion of the Green Anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis). Ecology and Evolution 2: 2274-2284.