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Madison Alexander
Background:
Background:
•Eukaryotic, Multicellular (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
•Life span: 10 years (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
•Diurnal: active during the daytime (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
•Hibernate during winter (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
•Reproduction season varies with location (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
•Western Skinks reproduce sexually and lay eggs. Females typically lay 2-6 eggs during June and July. (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
•Western Skinks are very agile which allows them to be great burrowers. They can burrow up to several times their body size. (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
•Insectivores, Feed on crickets, beetles, moths, grasshoppers, and other arthropods (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
•Western Skinks characteristically avoid heavy brush and dense areas (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
• Juveniles have a bright blue tail that turns grey with maturation which can regrow if broken off (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
•Continents: North America
•Countries: Canada, Mexico, U.S. (Animalia - Online Animals Encyclopedia, n.d.)
Introduction:
Introduction:
Western Skinks have a bright blue tail, shiny smooth scales, and stripes running along their body length. They are the only lizards in Washington with these features! (Western Skink, n.d.)
Western Skinks use the detachment of their tails as a defense mechanism if caught by a predator! (Western Skink, n.d.)
Experiments conducted on the Western Skink speciation habits sought to analyze the importance and overall impact of morphological divergence as it relates to gene exchange. (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
Taxonomy and Nomenclature:
Taxonomy and Nomenclature:
•Kingdom: Animalia
•Phylum: Chordata
•Subphylum: Vertebrata
•Class: Reptilia
•Order: Squamata
•Family: Scincidae
•Genus: Plestiodon
•Species: Plestiodon skiltonianus
(Western Skink - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio, n.d.)
Appearance:
Appearance:
The Experiment:
The Experiment:
-Author: Jonathan Q. Richmond
-Goal: Analyze the importance and impact of morphological divergence as it relates to gene exchange (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
-Specifics:
-Differences in body size = primary determinant in mating success (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
-Phylogenetic relatedness and geographic distance= little to no influence (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
-Each skink was housed in a climate-controlled environment from March-September (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
-Standard single-pair protocol (one male/one female) (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
-The treatment group consists of 5 males and 5 females (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
-1 trial per day x 5 consecutive days (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
-Use of hormone injections to induce out-of-season reproductive behavior (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
Concepts to Understand:
Concepts to Understand:
Phylogenetic Relatedness: Analyzes the evolutionary relationships among species. (EMBL-EBI, n.d.)
Gene exchange occurs during crossing over and allows for the exchange of alleles. This produces new combinations of alleles which, over time, ensures genetic variation in the offspring produced. (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2019)
Results:
Results:
As the size difference grew larger between the test subjects, there was a higher chance of a probability of courtship between the skinks, which is considered partial copulation.
Data Analysis and Conclusion:
Data Analysis and Conclusion:
-The hypothesis that body size would be the primary factor in successful copulation was accepted and supported previous hypotheses from similar experiments. (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
-As body size disparity increased, successful copulation attempts decreased. (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
-This pattern was similar for intra- and inter-specific mating trials. (Richmond, J. Q., 2005).
- This experiment is important in understanding the specific mating habits of the Western Skink and evaluating environmental factors that could cause an increase or decrease in successful copulation attempts.
Primary Source Citation:
Primary Source Citation:
-Richmond, J. Q. (2005). Determining the causes and consequences of speciation in western North American scincid lizards of the Plestiodon skiltonianus species complex (Squamata: Scincidae) (Order No. 3205741). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (305012812).
Other References:
Other References:
Blackburn, D. G. (1993). Standardized Criteria for the Recognition of Reproductive Modes in Squamate Reptiles. Herpetologica, 49(1), 118–132. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3+892692
Western Skink - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio. (n.d.). Animalia.bio. https://animalia.bio/western-skink
Western Skink. (n.d.). Burke Museum. https://www.burkemuseum.org/collections-and-research/biology/herpetology/amphibians-reptiles-washington/western-skink
EMBL-EBI. (n.d.). What is phylogenetics? | Phylogenetics. https://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/online/courses/introduction-to-phylogenetics/what-is-phylogenetics/
National Human Genome Research Institute. (2019). Crossing Over. Genome.gov. https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Crossing-Over
Images Courtesy of:
-https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Western_Skink_(Plestiodon_skiltonianus).JPG
-western_skink_plestiodon_skiltonianus - CKISS - Central Kootenay Invasive Species Society
-Western Skink - Montana Field Guide (mt.gov)
-Western skink | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
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