2010
Population Genetic Structure of Aldabra Giant Tortoises
Balmer O, Ciofi C, Galbraith D, Swingland I, Zug G, Caccone A. Population Genetic Structure of Aldabra Giant Tortoises. Journal Of Heredity 2010, 102: 29-37. PMID: 20805288, DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esq096.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenetic structurePopulation structureGiant tortoisesMitochondrial DNA control region sequencesPopulation genetic structureSignificant population structureControl region sequencesAldabra giant tortoisePrevious ecological studiesAllopatric divergenceNuclear lociPopulation subdivisionHabitat variationMtDNA sequencesMicrosatellite lociPopulation geneticsUnsuitable habitatGenetic variabilityAllelic variationRegion sequencesEcological factorsTerrestrial ecosystemsPopulation dynamicsAldabra AtollGeographical barriers
2004
Giant tortoises are not so slow: Rapid diversification and biogeographic consensus in the Galápagos
Beheregaray L, Gibbs J, Havill N, Fritts T, Powell J, Caccone A. Giant tortoises are not so slow: Rapid diversification and biogeographic consensus in the Galápagos. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2004, 101: 6514-6519. PMID: 15084743, PMCID: PMC404076, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0400393101.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGiant Galápagos tortoisesGalápagos tortoisesGreat natural laboratoryGenetic variationDivergent monophyletic cladesHistory of diversificationIsolated oceanic archipelagoPatterns of colonizationBiogeographic predictionsEvolutionary diversificationGene flowEndemic haplotypesExtant populationsLimited dispersalOceanic archipelagosBiogeographic patternsEvolutionary eventsBiological diversificationMonophyletic cladeMtDNA sequencesRapid diversificationGenetic interchangeRange expansionOlder islandsGiant tortoises
2003
Xantusiid “night” lizards: a puzzling phylogenetic problem revisited using likelihood-based Bayesian methods on mtDNA sequences
Vicario S, Caccone A, Gauthier J. Xantusiid “night” lizards: a puzzling phylogenetic problem revisited using likelihood-based Bayesian methods on mtDNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics And Evolution 2003, 26: 243-261. PMID: 12565035, DOI: 10.1016/s1055-7903(02)00313-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsDivergence time estimatesXantusia riversianaCytochrome b geneMaximum parsimony analysisCalifornia Channel IslandsLikelihood-based Bayesian methodsIsland endemicsMitochondrial genesLizard evolutionAncestral stateScleroglossan lizardsRibosomal genesMtDNA sequencesPhylogenetic problemsCrown cladeAdditional cladesPhylogenetic analysisNeighbor-JoiningParsimony analysisB geneBoundary bolide impactRock crevicesCladeMaximum likelihoodXantusia
1999
A Molecular Phylogeny of Four Endangered Madagascar Tortoises Based on MtDNA Sequences
Caccone A, Amato G, Gratry O, Behler J, Powell J. A Molecular Phylogeny of Four Endangered Madagascar Tortoises Based on MtDNA Sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics And Evolution 1999, 12: 1-9. PMID: 10222157, DOI: 10.1006/mpev.1998.0594.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCyt b geneNorth American tortoisesP. planicaudaVerge of extinctionMorphological divergenceMolecular phylogenySingle colonizationMost lineagesMonophyletic originPhylogenetic relationshipsPyxis arachnoidesSister statusMtDNA sequencesSister taxaGenus GeocheloneMitochondrial DNADNA sequencesTortoise speciesB geneEndemic tortoisesGopherus polyphemusLatter genusGeocheloneSpeciesPhylogeny