Herpetology of Africa
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Unique collecting localities from 2004–2015.
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The Blackburn Lab focuses its field research in Africa. In addition to collecting samples for use in evolutionary analyses, we also collect samples relevant to understanding genetics, disease, and natural history. Our work has resulted in the discovery of new species, better understanding of the evolution and natural history of poorly known frog species, and provided baseline information important for conservation. We are especially interested in understanding the historical biogeography of continental Africa.
To date, our work includes field expeditions in eight countries. Currently, fieldwork in the lab focuses on Angola, Cameroon, Gabon, and Republic of Congo. Our research related to Angolan amphibians and reptiles is supported by a grant from the US National Science Foundation. This is a collaborative grant with Dr. Matt Heinicke at the University of Michigan - Dearborn and Dr. Aaron Bauer at Villanova University. |
Morphological Diversity & Evolution
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We have a number of active research projects that investigate the structure, function, and evolution of anatomy in amphibians and reptiles. For the most part, this research is driven by high-resolution computed tomography (CT-scanning), which is a powerful method for visualizing, measuring, and disseminating information about anatomy. Because CT-scanning is non-destructive, we can use this technique to study the internal anatomy of rare or delicate museum specimens. Because the resulting data are digital, they can be easily and instantly shared with scientists, students, and the public. We use the CT-scanner based at UF's Nanoscale Research Facility.
We are leading the oVert (openVertebrate) Thematic Collections Network funded by the US National Science Foundation. This network includes participation from 16 museum institutions in the US. We aim to CT-scan >20,000 vertebrate specimens in US museum collections to provide high-resolution digital anatomy for most vertebrate genera. Read more here in Science and a FAQ here. Interested to learn CT-scanning as part of oVert, you can apply to scan specimens of interest to your own projects at Friday Harbor Labs! See here. |
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In addition to sharing 3D anatomical data to facilitate research, we are also interested in using these data for education and outreach. We have put examples of our frogs on the easily accessible site SketchFab. We are also experimenting with ways to make these useful resources for education and training.
Check out our "digital frogs" or specimens from the UF Herpetology collections on MorphoSource to get access to shape files and image stacks for your own analyses. |
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Digitizing Scientific Collections
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Preserved specimens housed in the scientific collections of museums around the world provide basic information about when and where species have been found. In a way, these specimens allow us to time travel, and see what organisms were like in the past. Using these collections, we can discover, for example, that species used to occur in places where now they are gone or we can sample decades-old specimens for viruses, fungi, and more to understand how pathogens have moved around the world over time. For more, see this short summary.
The Blackburn Lab is actively engaged in promoting the digitization of scientific collections. In addition to on-going work with the herpetology collections in the Florida Museum of Natural History, we are working to digitize collections data from other collections. With funding from the JRS Biodiversity Foundation, we are digitizing and georeferencing specimens of amphibians and reptiles from both Angola and Namibia in scientific collections around the world. The oVert TCN is providing digital anatomical data from specimens across US museum collections. |
Phenotype Informatics
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Studies of phenotype diversity—shapes, sizes, colors, growth, behavior, and more—are fundamental to biology and unite fields ranging from taxonomy to evolution to development to ecology. Yet because information from different fields remains difficult to quickly synthesize in computer-readable formats, the opportunities for cross fertilization and abilities to ask new large-scale questions are limited.
In the Phenoscape project, which was supported by the US National Science Foundation, we created ontologies (controlled vocabularies with defined relationships between terms) to represent vertebrate anatomy, taxonomy, and more. These contribute to a framework where information from studies of evolutionary diversity can be integrated with, for example, information from developmental genetics. Check out the Phenoscape knowledgebase to browse phenotypes by taxon, anatomy, and genes. In the Blackburn Lab, we are interested to capture phenotypes from museum specimens to characterize diversity both within and across species and to feed these data into large-scale analyses of trait diversity. |
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