SMAH | Environmental Futures Seminar - Stuart Nielsen

Squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes) are an exceptional model group for studying myriad aspects of evolution. One example is their varied sex determining systems. Gecko lizards, in particular, have extraordinary diversity, having evolved sex chromosomes (i.e. XX/XY and ZZ/ZW) independently multiple times over their long evolutionary history. However, detailed information about sex chromosomes is lacking for most gecko species, thus large gaps in our understanding of the evolutionary processes responsible for this diversity remain. Filling these gaps often highlights unexpected diversity in sex chromosome systems, and we’ll explore some of that nonpareil diversity together in this presentation.

Stuart Nielsen is an evolutionary biologist broadly interested in biodiversity, with a keen interest in lizard taxonomy, genomics, and character evolution. Current projects include the systematics and phylogenetics of geckos, the evolution of anti-predatory tactics in diplodactylid geckos, and sex chromosome evolution. In addition to teaching a wide variety of courses at LSUS, Dr. Nielsen is the Director of the LSUS Museum of Life Sciences, in addition to managing the Gecko Lab @ LSUS—a live animal facility with nearly 300 live geckos representing over 20 species.