Members of the Adams Lab
Erin Myers
Erin is a Ph.D. student working in the lab.
I am a 5th year Ph.D. student conducting several research projects in the Janzen and Adams labs focusing mainly on inter- and intraspecific interactions. My dissertation research is examining molecular
phylogenetics and shape variation in the eye-bar patterns of map turtles (genus: Graptemys). I am quantifying shape differences, reconstructing possible ancestral eye-bar patterns using a new phylogeny, and conducting behavioral experiments based on the aforementioned work. This research will hopefully elucidate the role
of eye-bar patterns in sexual selection and speciation in this genus.Previous projects have examined other aspects ecology and evolutionary biology. My undergraduate research at Cornell University, with Kelly Zamudio, focused on quantifying the frequency of multiple paternity in the field for the spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum. I also evaluated the effect of reproductive skew on the ability to estimate the number of unshared parents. In spring 2003 I examined the heritability of multivariate shell shape in
hatchling slider turtles, as well as preliminarily analyzed genetic differentiation among nesting populations. In a subsequent project, I
examined the relationships between plastron shape and body size with fitness and performance. Finally, I also looked at phenotypic variation as a function of food use and habitat variation in the red-backed salamander in collaboration with John Maerz from Cornell University. Future salamander research will examine potential morphological consequences of aggressive interactions between
Plethodon cinereus and Plethodon shenandoah.References:
Myers, E. M., F. J. Janzen, D. C. Adams, and J. K. Tucker. 2006. Quantitative genetics of plastron shape in slider turtles (Trachemys scripta). Evolution 60:563-572 .
Maerz, J., E. M. Myers, and D. C. Adams. 2006. Trophic polymorphism in a terrestrial salamander. Evolutionary Ecology Research. 8:23-35.
Myers, E. M., and K. R. Zamudio. 2004. Multiple paternity in an aggregate breeding amphibian: the effect of reproductive skew on estimates of male reproductive success. Molecular Ecology 13:1951-1963.
Email: emyers1@iastate.edu
Homepage: www.public.iastate.edu/~emyers1
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