{"id":13,"date":"2011-07-31T00:33:20","date_gmt":"2011-07-31T00:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/blackbur\/"},"modified":"2013-06-03T20:24:34","modified_gmt":"2013-06-04T00:24:34","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/blackbur\/?page_id=13","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research in the \u201creptile lab\u201d at Trinity College concentrates on functional morphology and evolution of reproductive specializations in lizards and snakes, notably features associated with viviparity (live-bearing reproduction) and oviparity (egg-laying reproduction).<\/p>\n

Background:\u00a0 <\/strong>All animals reproduce in one of two ways:\u00a0 in oviparity<\/strong>, females lay fertilized or unfertilized eggs, whereas in viviparity<\/strong>, females give birth to their young.\u00a0\u00a0Although viviparity is characteristic of most mammals (including our own species), it also\u00a0occurs in a wide variety of other animals.\u00a0\u00a0For example, about 20% of the species of\u00a0lizards and snakes are viviparous, as are most sharks and\u00a0various teleost\u00a0fishes and amphibians.\u00a0\u00a0 Viviparity also has been documented in various extinct forms, including\u00a0plesiosaurs,\u00a0ichthyosaurs, and\u00a0placoderm fishes.<\/p>\n

The fact that viviparity has\u00a0originated in so many unrelated forms raises many functional and evolutionary questions.\u00a0 How do pregnant females sustain their developing embryos during pregnancy?\u00a0 How have the mechanisms of embryo sustenance evolved?\u00a0 For that matter, how and why has\u00a0viviparity evolved from oviparity so often, and what factors\u00a0have affected its evolution?<\/p>\n

Our research.<\/strong>\u00a0 Research in my lab focuses primarily on viviparity in lizards and snakes.\u00a0 Such\u00a0reptiles have evolved viviparity more frequently than all other vertebrates combined, making them an ideal group for study of this reproductive pattern.\u00a0 Our work has focused on three major areas:<\/p>\n

1) Structure and function of reptile placentas <\/a>— the organs through which pregnant females sustain their embryos;<\/p>\n

2) Developmental morphology and evolution of fetal membranes <\/a>— the tissues that sustain embryos in oviparous reptiles, providing oxygen, water and calcium.\u00a0 These tissues\u00a0have been recruited in viviparous forms for placentation;<\/p>\n

3) Evolution of viviparity <\/a>and fetal nutritional patterns in reptiles and other vertebrates.<\/p>\n

Over the years, other subjects of investigation\u00a0have included hormonal\u00a0control of sexually dimorphic\u00a0muscles and\u00a0skin glands of frogs;\u00a0the (non- biological) nature of\u00a0“racial” categories; sociopolitical\u00a0attacks on evolution (“creationism”); and (further afield) literary contributions of the author W. Somerset Maugham.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .\"the\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Blackburn research\u00a0lab\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Our snake breeding colony<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Research in the \u201creptile lab\u201d at Trinity College concentrates on functional morphology and evolution of reproductive specializations in lizards and snakes, notably features associated with viviparity (live-bearing reproduction) and oviparity (egg-laying reproduction). Background:\u00a0 All animals reproduce in one of two ways:\u00a0 in oviparity, females lay fertilized or unfertilized eggs, whereas in viviparity, females give birth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/blackbur\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/blackbur\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/blackbur\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/blackbur\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/blackbur\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":110,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/blackbur\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/blackbur\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions\/127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/blackbur\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}