Squamates (snakes and lizards) exhibit a striking variety of phenotypes, with little known on their generative mechanisms. Studies aiming to understand the genetic basis of this wide diversity in morphology, physiology and ecology will greatly benefit from whole genome sequencing initiatives, as they provide the foundation for comparative analyses and improve our understanding of the evolution,...

Speciation can occur on both large and small geographical scales. In plants, local speciation, where small populations split off from a large-ranged progenitor species, is thought to be the dominant mode, yet there are still few examples to verify speciation has occurred in this manner. A recently described morphological species in the yellow monkey flowers, Mimulus filicifolius, is an excellen...

Understanding the genetic basis of complex quantitative traits is a central problem in evolutionary biology, particularly for traits that may lead to adaptations in natural populations. The annual and perennial ecotypes of Mimulus guttatus provide an excellent experimental system for characterizing the genetic components of population divergence. The 2 life history ecotypes coexist throughout t...

Siganus insomnis sp. nov. is described from the Maldives, Sri Lanka and southern India. It most closely resembles S. lineatus (Valenciennes) from the Western Pacific but differs in coloration, principally in that most if not all of the bronze bands on its mid and upper sides continue horizontally and unbroken through to the nape and opercular slit. By contrast, in S. lineatus, typically the ant...

Much evidence has shown that postzygotic reproductive isolation (hybrid inviability or sterility) evolves by the accumulation of interlocus incompatibilities between diverging populations. Although in theory only a single pair of incompatible loci is needed to isolate species, empirical work in Drosophila has revealed that hybrid fertility problems often are highly polygenic and complex. In thi...

As a common cause of reproductive isolation in diverse taxa, hybrid incompatibilities are fundamentally important to speciation. A key question is which evolutionary forces drive the initial substitutions within species that lead to hybrid dysfunction. Previously, we discovered a simple genetic incompatibility that causes nearly complete male sterility and partial female sterility in hybrids be...

The third-stage larvae of several genera of anisakid nematodes are important etiological agents for zoonotic human anisakiasis. The present study investigated the prevalence of potentially zoonotic anisakid larvae in fish collected on the coastal shelves off Madang and Rabaul in Papua New Guinea (PNG) where fish represents a major component of the diet. Nematodes were found in seven fish specie...

The genetic homogeneity of the Monterey Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus concolor population in the Gulf of California was confirmed using nine nuclear microsatellite loci in combination with mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences. Samples were collected from the upper and central Gulf areas, representing the two main biogeographical regions of the Gulf. The analyses support the existence of a...