Meaghan Parker
Department of Zoology,
University of Hawai`i
2538 McCarthy Mall,
Edmondson 152
Honolulu, HI 96822
meaghan@hawaii.edu

http://www.hawaii.edu/cowielab/people.htm

Research Interests:
My interest in science began as a child. I was lucky enough to have a mother whose interests spanned the general scientific environment with a special love for conservation biology. She was able to teach me how to think in an investigatory manner, dissecting each question that I would propose to her. Over the years, thinking in this manner became a natural process for me and proved to be very rewarding.

I earned my bachelor's degree in biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where I studied behavior ecology and conservation genetics. During the early part of my academic career I focused on the behavioral ecology of northern elephant seals. The latter part of my undergraduate schooling broadened my focus to include molecular genetics. I was taught how to use molecular tools to address questions in population genetics, molecular evolution and phylogeography.

From there I chose to go on for my master's at San Francisco State University in ecology and systematic biology. I built upon my previous work in molecular genetics to, once again address questions in evolutionary biology.

My time between programs was spent working on a multitude of different field and lab projects ranging from the breeding ecology of the endangered Mariana crow to population genetic work on the Yellowstone pine marten.

Here at the University of Hawaii, my dissertation is focused on the systematics, phylogeography, evolution and conservation of Pacific Island land snails. The Achatinellidae comprise five subfamilies: the endemic Hawaiian subfamilies Achatinellinae and Auriculellinae, and three Pacific-wide subfamilies, Pacificellinae, Tornatellininae and Tornatellidinae. The Achatinellinae, which include the conspicuous Oahu tree snails in the genus Achatinella, exhibit great variability in shell color and banding patterns and have thus attracted much scientific and popular interest. The other four subfamilies include smaller, less colorful snails, and have attracted far less scientific attention.

Achatinellinae grow and reproduce slowly, producing 1-6 offspring per year, reaching reproductive maturity at around 5 years and living at least 18 years. The Tornatellininae also bear live young. However, the Auriculellinae are oviparous, laying only one to two eggs at a time. The Tornatellidinae exhibit a mixed strategy, with two genera bearing live young and the third laying eggs.

Considerable information is available on achatinellid shell morphology and to a lesser extent soft part anatomy, but phylogenetic relationships within and among genera and subfamilies have not been assessed. Cooke and Kondo (1961) used shell morphology as well as internal morphology to assign species to genera but stated that "the lack of cohesion between the subfamilies is remarkable" and that "No family tree can possibly be constructed to show the relative position of the subfamilies to each other". They concluded that Achatinellidae is an ancient family that has lost a great many intermediate members in its evolution.

The questions that I am addressing are important because of the current status of native terrestrial snails in Hawaii and the Pacific. Many species of Achatinellidae in particular are extinct or are on the verge of extinction because of habitat loss and alien species introductions. Thus, the imperative to understand their abundance, distribution and relationships has never been more timely.