Recent higher-level frog phylogenetic analyses have included a few members of the endemic Philippine frog genus Sanguirana. Although the monophyly of the group has never been disputed, the recent phylogenetically-supported inclusion of the Palawan Wood Frog (Sanguirana sanguinea) in this clade was highly unexpected. In addition, species boundaries and relationships remain unclear and new species continue to be discovered. We estimate the...

Herpetology Collection Manager Jessa Watters joined an expedition led by Earlham College’s Dr. John Iverson to the uninhabited Allen’s Cays and Bushhill Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas from May 16-27.  The trip included a total of 16 field researchers and 6 crew of the ship, the Beacon Won.  We visited a total four islands and studied demography and physiology of two endangered iguana...

Siler Lab students once again participated in the Honors College’s annual Undergraduate Research Day on April 2, 2016.  Three total projects were presented (see titles below), covering the work of 5 students.  We are incredibly proud of all our undergraduate researchers!  See the full program here. Dylan Lindauer and Elyse Ellsworth*, with Dr. Cameron D. Siler, “Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) Detection in Central Oklahoma” Michelle Penrod and Marie Labonte*,...

This past weekend, 15 other OU McNair scholars and I traveled to the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas to present our research from the past year.  The McNair Scholars Program is a federal program to prepare undergraduate underrepresented students for doctoral studies through research and mentorships.  I presented the research that the Siler Lab and I conducted over the presence of Chytrid fungus in Southeast Oklahoma. ...

Standardization and repeatability is at the heart of all scientific research, yet very little literature exists to standardize mor- phometric measurements within vertebrate groups. This is particularly true for amphibians. Our study attempts to rectify this lack of methodological standardization for the measurement of morphological characters in anurans through an ex- tensive literature survey of 136 species descriptions representing 45 currently recognized...

Despite the exceptionally high levels of vertebrate diversity in Southeast Asia, surprisingly little is known about the processes responsible for this occurrence. Recently, an increase in diversity of amphibians has been studied in the Philippines. One genus in particular, Sanguirana, a frog genus endemic to the Philippines, consists of seven species with distinct physical characteristics as well as one or two species...

We present a near comprehensive, densely sampled, multilocus phylogenetic estimate of species relationships within the anuran family Ceratobatrachidae, a morphologically and ecologically diverse group of frogs from the island archi- pelagos of Southeast Asia and the South-West Pacific. Ceratobatrachid frogs consist of three clades: a small clade of enigmatic, primarily high-elevation, semi-aquatic Sundaland species currently assigned to Ingerana (for which we erect...

The Siler Lab was in the field again last weekend and we saw/heard a fantastic frog chorus at a pond on the James Collins WMA in Latimer County, Oklahoma....

This week, we hear from Dr. Janalee P. Caldwell, Professor and Curator Emeritus I was Curator of Amphibians at the Sam Noble Museum and professor in the Biology Department at OU from 1990 to 2011.  My research focused on the ecology, behavior, and systematics of amphibians, particularly dendrobatid and aromobatid frogs.  In addition to curatorial duties, I was involved in designing museum exhibits, teaching undergraduates, and...

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) With the generous support of the Office of the Vice President of Research, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program offers financial assistance for scholarly and creative projects under the mentorship of a faculty member.  Dozens of research projects are funded each year so that undergraduates may undertake ambitious and exciting research endeavors. This competitive program is open to...

Although landscape features such as mountains and rivers are recognized often as limiting factors to amphibian dispersal and gene flow, a limited number of studies have investigated such patterns across Southeast Asia. A perfect example of this is Thailand, located in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspot regions. Thailand represents the corridor between mainland Asia and the Sunda Shelf, a famous and...