Current Research

Research in my laboratory combines field studies with a variety of molecular genetic and phenotypic analyses to study adaptation, population biology, systematics, biogeography, and speciation of amphibians and reptiles. My current research aims to understand the genetic basis of adaptive variation in color, pattern, and morphology ofAnolis lizards in the Caribbean, and the role of population differentiation and local adaptation in speciation. A second line of related research aims to identify the evolutionary and historical processes that structure patterns of tropical biodiversity in a variety of taxa. I welcome students who wish to pursue conceptually similar studies in ecology, evolution, or conservation biology.

Selected Publications

  • Meegaskumbura M, Senevirathne G, Biju SD, Sonali G, Meegaskumbura S, Pethiyagoda R, Hanken J, Schneider CJ (2015) Patterns of reproductive-mode evolution in Old World tree frogs (Anura, Rhacophoridae) Zoologica Scripta 44:509–522. DOI: 10.1111/zsc.12121
  • Graham CH, Carnaval AC, Cadena CD, Zamudio KR, Toberts TE, Parra JL, McCain CM, Bowie RCK, Moritz C, Baines SB, Schneider CJ, VanDerWal J, Rahbek C, Kozak KH, Sanders NJ (2014) The origin and maintenance of montane diversity: integrating evolutionary and ecological processes. Ecography: Article first published online: 2 JUN 2014 DOI: 10.1111/ecog.00578
  • Kieswetter CM, Schneider CJ (2013) Phylogeography in the northern Andes: Complex history and cryptic diversity in a cloud forest frog, Pristimantis w-nigrum (Craugastoridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 69:417-429.
  • Muñoz MM, Crawford NG, McGreevy TJ Jr., Messana NJ, Tarvin RD, Revell LJ, Zandvliet RM, Hopwood JM, Mock E, Schneider AL, Schneider CJ (2013) Divergence in coloration and ecological speciation in the Anolis marmoratus species complex. Molecular Ecology 22:2668-2682.
  • Kronforst MR, Barsh GS, Kopp A, Mallet J, Monteiro A, Mullen SP, Protas M, Rosenblum EB, Schneider CJ, Hoekstra HE (2012) Unraveling the thread of nature’s tapestry: the genetics of diversity and convergence in animal pigmentation. Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research 25:411-433.
  • Bossuyt F, ‡Meegaskumbura M, Beenaerts N, Gower DJ, Pethiyagoda R, Roelants K, Mannaert A, Wilkinson M, Bahir MM, Manamendra-Arachchi K, Ng PKL, Schneider CJ, Oomen OV, Milinkovitch MC (2004) Local endemism within the Western Ghats – Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot. Science 306:479-481.
  • Meegaskumbura M, Bossuyt F, Pethiyagoda R, Manamendra-Arachchi K, Bahir M, Milinkovitch MC, Schneider CJ (2002) Sri Lanka: An amphibian hotspot. Science 298:379
  • Bossuyt F, Meegaskumbura M, Beenaerts N, Gower DJ, Pethiyagoda R, Roelants K, Mannaert A, Wilkinson M, Bahir MM, Manamendra-Arachchi K, Ng PKL, Schneider CJ, Oomen OV, Milinkovitch MC (2004) Local endemism within the Western Ghats – Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot. Science 306, 479-481.
  • Meegaskumbura M, Bossuyt F, Pethiyagoda R, Manamendra-Arachchi K, Bahir M, Milinkovitch MC, Schneider CJ (2002) Sri Lanka: An amphibian hotspot. Science 298, 379.

Courses Taught:

  • BI 107 Introductory Biology I
  • BI 309 Evolution
  • BI 416/616 Herpetology
  • BI 581/582 Seminar in Biology

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