Matt Gifford
Postdoctoral Associate
Ph.D, Washington University, St. Louis, 2008
Contact Information
Phone: 612-625-5709
Fax: 612-624-6777
E-mail: giffo031@umn.edu
Research Interests
Integrative biology; Consequences of variation in physiological function for range dynamics and climate change; Comparative biology of amphibians, reptiles and fishes
Statement
My research aims to integrate physiological ecology, phylogenetic biology, population genetics, and spatial ecology to understand the proximate and ultimate factors determining species distributions and abundance. To do this I am initiating studies of the ecophysiology of eastern North American salamanders in the genus Plethodon . Much phylogenetic and phylogeographic work has been completed for these taxa providing an ideal framework for addressing such questions. Other research includes studies of ecological speciation and phylogeny in mosquitofish ( Gambusia ), phylogeography and ecological diversification in Hispaniolan ground-dwelling lizards, and landscape genetics, demography and population dynamics of lizards in the British Virgin Islands.
Selected Publications
Gifford, M.E. and A. Larson. In situ genetic divergence in Ameiva chrysolaema : A multilocus perspective. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. In Press
Langerhans, R.B., Gifford, M.E. and Joseph, E.O. Ecological speciation among blue holes in mosquitofish. In M. Uribe and H. Grier, eds. Viviparous Fishes II. Homestead, FL, New Life Publications. In Press
Wittenberg, R.D., Gifford, M.E. 2008. Funnel traps may be inappropriate for many studies of semi-aquatic snakes. J. Freshwater Ecol. 23:213-218.
Gifford, M.E. 2008. Divergent character clines across a recent secondary contact zone in a Hispaniolan lizard. J. Zool. 274:292-300.
Gifford, M.E. , D.L. Mahler, and A. Herrel. 2008. The evolution of sprinting performance among populations of Leiocephalus lizards from the Dominican Republic. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 93:445-456.
Langerhans, R.B., M.E. Gifford , and E. Joseph. 2007. Ecological speciation in Gambusia fishes. Evolution , 61:2056-2074.
Gifford, M.E. and R. Powell. 2007. Sexual dimorphism and reproductive characteristics in five species of Leiocephalus lizards from the Dominican Republic. J. Herpetol. , 41:521-527.
Glor, R.E., M.E. Gifford , A. Larson, J.B. Losos, L. Rodriguez-Schettino, A. Chamizo-Lara, and T.R. Jackman. 2004. Partial island submergence and speciation in an adaptive radiation: a multilocus analysis of the Cuban green anoles. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lon., Biol. Sci. 271:2257-2265.
Gifford, M.E. , R. Powell, A. Larson, and R.L. Gutberlet, Jr. 2004. Population structure and history of a phenotypically variable teiid lizard ( Ameiva chrysolaema ) from Hispaniola: The influence of a geologically complex island. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 32:735-748.
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