Last Sunday, Sept. 28, the Siler lab participated in the Sam Noble Museum’s annual Science in Action and Object ID Day event.  Over 700 members of the public came by to learn about the museum’s galleries, collections, and additional University of Oklahoma participants, such as the Sooner Lunar and OU Botany Club. The Siler lab shared 9 historical and recent specimens collected...

The Philippines have an incredible level of biodiversity and a great need for conservation. The islands’ amphibians are among the top priorities for vertebrate conservation. The vast majority of Philippines amphibians occur nowhere else in the world, and many are greatly limited in their geographic ranges. There are many secretive species that are poorly known to researchers. We have a poor understanding...

Over 30% of all amphibians species worldwide are threatened with extinction, and one of the largest threats comes from the chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium (Bd). It has been directly associated with the extinction of over 150 amphibian species in many parts of the world, and its effects are amplified in combination with habitat destruction and climate change. We tested 3,000 frogs from at...

Widespread, co-distributed species with limited relative dispersal abilities represent compelling focal taxa for comparative phylogeography. Forest vertebrates in island archipelagos often exhibit pronounced population structure resulting from limited dispersal abilities or capacity to overcome marine barriers to dispersal. The exceptionally diverse Old World tree frogs of the family Rhacophoridae have colonized the forested island archipelagos of Southeast Asia on multiple occasions, entering...

Aim To utilize comprehensive geographical sampling and a new, multilocus dataset to re-examine the biogeography of spotted stream frogs (Hylarana signata complex) throughout Southeast Asia. To compare patterns of diversification among stream frog populations on land-bridge islands and oceanic islands and to re-evaluate a previous ‘dual-invasion’ hypothesis for the origins of endemic Philippine taxa. Location Southeast Asia, Sundaland, and the Philippines. Methods...

Greg Jongsma – Masters Research Background The genus Hylarana is a member of the family Ranidae and part of the larger radiation called the Natatanura. Ranidae is one of few globally distributed frog families and comprises more than 350 species (Frost 2014) that exhibit a wide range morphological and ecological diversity. The genus Hylarana is unique among the members of Ranidae because its distribution...

Over the last few years we have explored the patterns and processes of morphological character evolution and species-level diversification, focusing on understanding the biogeographic and evolutionary histories of Southeast Asian amphibians and reptiles.  Biodiversity in many complex landscapes is likely affected by similar geologic events and climatic changes. We am now pursuing several broader, more comparative approaches to understanding mechanisms driving diversification, and...

We provide the first report on the herpetological biodiversity (amphibians and reptiles) of the northern Sierra Madre Mountain Range (Cagayan and Isabela provinces), northeast Luzon Island, Philippines. New data from extensive previously unpublished surveys in the Municipalities of Gonzaga, Gattaran, Lasam, Santa Ana, and Baggao (Cagayan Province), as well as fieldwork in the Municipalities of Cabagan, San Mariano, and Palanan (Isabela Province),...

Living amphibians exhibit a diversity of ecologies, life histories, and species-rich lineages that offers opportunities for studies of adaptive radiation. We characterize a diverse clade of frogs (Kaloula, Microhylidae) in the Philippine island archipelago as an example of an adaptive radiation into three primary habitat specialists or ecotypes. We use a novel phylogenetic estimate for this clade to evaluate the tempo of...

...

We present results from several recent herpetological surveys in the Romblon Island Group (RIG), Romblon Province, central Philippines. Together with a summary of historical museum records, our data document the occurrence of 55 species of amphibians and reptiles in this small island group. Until the present effort, and despite past studies, herpetological diversity of the RIG and their biogeographical affinities has remained...