Date of Award
5-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Chair
Brian Kreiser
Committee Chair School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 2
Carl Qualls
Committee Member 2 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 3
Jacob Schaefer
Committee Member 3 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 4
Michael Davis
Committee Member 4 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Abstract
Iguanidae (iguanas) and Gekkonidae (geckos) represent approximately 17% of extant lizard species, with Iguanidae being one of the smallest families and Gekkonidae being one of the largest families within Squamata. These two families of lizards cover a diverse array of life history traits, habitats, and size; represented by large, long-lived iguanas found primarily in the New World to small, rapidly reproducing geckos that are globally distributed. Both families include endangered species that are of great conservation concern with rapidly declining populations and invasive species that are swiftly spreading outside of their native ranges.
This dissertation focuses on one pair of endangered Rock Iguanas, the Ricord’s Rock iguana, Cyclura ricordii and the Rhinoceros Iguana, Cyclura cornuta, and one species of undescribed non-native House Gecko, Hemidactylus cf. malcolmsmithi. These three species represent opposite ends of the management and research spectrum: with the goal of conservation for the endemic Cyclura and the goal of preventing the spread of non-native Hemidactylus. The first two chapters of this dissertation focus on the systematic trapping and burrow ecology of Cyclura ricordii and Cyclura cornuta south of Lago Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic. The third chapter investigates the distributions and origins of Hemidactlyus cf. malcolmsmithi across the southern United States using molecular (i.e. mitochondrial) techniques.
Copyright
Christopher Michael Pellecchia, 2024
Recommended Citation
Pellecchia, Christopher, "From the Hispaniolan Dry Forests to Interstate Truck Stops: Investigations into the Ecology of Endangered Rock Iguanas in the Dominican Republic and the Origins of Invasive House Geckos in the Southern United States" (2024). Dissertations. 2237.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/2237