John J. Wiens

Ph.D. 1995, University of Texas at Austin. Phone: (631) 632-1101. e-mail: wiensj@life.bio.sunysb.edu

John Wiens' research consists of three main areas: (1) phylogenetic approaches to questions in evolution and ecology, (2) the theory and methods of systematics, and (3) the biology of reptiles and amphibians. First, he is interested in using integrative phylogenetic studies of reptiles and amphibians to address diverse topics in evolution and ecology, including sexual selection, patterns of species richness, evolution of major changes in body form, life history evolution, heterochrony, evolution of ecological specialization, and the evolutionary ecophysiology of diet. Second, he is interested in developing methods for reconstructing phylogenies and determining species boundaries, and in comparing the performance of these methods using computer simulations and analyses of empirical data sets. He is particularly interested in the problems of combining data sets, delimiting species, and the analysis of polymorphic and quantitative characters. Third, he is interested in the systematics, evolution, morphology, and ecology of reptiles and amphibians. Much of his herpetological research focuses on reconstructing the phylogenies of various groups of reptiles and amphibians using molecular and morphological data, including lizards, frogs, and salamanders.

Selected Publications

• Wiens, J. J. 1998. Combining data sets with different phylogenetic histories. Systematic Biology 47:568–581.
• Wiens, J. J. 1999. Phylogenetic evidence for multiple losses of a sexually selected character in phrynosomatid lizards. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 266:1529–1535.

• Wiens, J. J. 1999. Polymorphism in systematics and comparative biology. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 30:327–362.

• Wiens, J. J., T. W. Reeder, and A. Nieto. 1999. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution of sexual dichromatism among populations of the Yarrow’s spiny lizard (Sceloporus jarrovii ). Evolution 53:1884–1897.

• Wiens, J. J., and M. R. Servedio. 2000. Species delimitation in systematics: inferring diagnostic differences between species. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 267:631–636.

• Wiens, J. J. (Editor). 2000. Phylogenetic Analysis of Morphological Data. Smithsonian Institution Press, Comparative Evolutionary Biology Series.

• Wiens, J. J. 2001. Widespread loss of sexually-selected traits: how the peacock lost its spots Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16:517–523. (cover article).

• Wiens, J. J., and J. L. Slingluff. 2001. How lizards turn into snakes: a phylogenetic analysis of body-form evolution in anguid lizards. Evolution 55:2303–2318.

• Wiens, J. J., and T. L. Penkrot. 2002. Delimiting species based on DNA and morphological variation and discordant species limits in spiny lizards (Sceloporus). Systematic Biology 51:69–91.

• Stephens, P. R., and J. J. Wiens. 2002. Explaining species richness from continents to communities: the time-for-speciation effect in emydid turtles. American Naturalist (in press).