PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #52: Evolutionary Ecology.
Thursday, August 8. Presentation from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Phylogenetic analyses of Florida burrowing wolf spiders reveals the repeated evolution of an ecomorph.

Marshall, Samuel^*,1, Wu, Ting², Thornburg, Kory², Hoeh, Walter², ¹ J. H. Barrow Field Station, Hiram, OH² Department of Biological Sciences, Kent, OH

ABSTRACT- Currently, 18 species of Geolycosa have been described based on a limited number of morphological characteristics. The state of Florida has nine Geolycosa sp., seven living in scrubs and sandhills across the state. The goals of this project are: 1) to estimate the evolutionary relationships among Floridian Geolycosa populations and species and between Floridian Geolycosa and Geolycosa from the rest of the USA and, 2) to examine patterns in the evolution of the two ecotypes of Geolycosa: those that build turrets at the entrance of their burrow and those that do not. We used cytochrome c-oxidase subunit I (COI) DNA sequences and morphological traits in a cladistic analysis. Total DNAs were extracted, amplified, and sequenced from 74 individuals representing the species G. escambiensis, G. micanopy, G. patellonigra, G. x. xera, G. x. archboldi, G. hubbelli, G. ornatipes, G. wrighti, G. missouriensis, G. rafaelana, G. turricola, and G. pikei. Results to date suggest that: 1) Floridian Geolycosa are not a monophyletic assemblage, 2) G. xera, G. escambiensis, G. hubbelli, G. patellonigra, and G. micanopy are not valid species in a phylogenetic sense, and 3) the two distinct ecotypes of Geolycosa have evolved repeatedly across the state.

KEY WORDS: ecomorph, spider, Florida, biogeography