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My primary
interests are in evolutionary biology, biogeography and reptile
ecophysiology. I am particularly fascinated by lizards that are able to
thrive in extreme environments such as high elevation mountains. I am
currently using the Iberian Rock lizard Iberolacerta cyreni as study system
to investigate factors that constrain the distribution of geographically
restricted organisms in mountain environments. This has important
implications for understanding the effects of global change (eg.
fragmentation and contemporary climate change) on the conservation prospects
of vulnerable fauna.
I am using an
integrated approach to test competing hypotheses proposed to explain the
absence of I.cyreni from low elevation habitats. Specifically, I am
disentangling complex interactions between climate, habitat, competitive
exclusion and physiological limitations on reproduction (i.e. influence of
incubation temperature on survival and development of eggs). Further, I am
using molecular markers to examine the genetic structure of I.cyreni across
the Sistema Central mountain range and infer the extent of isolation among
populations.
I have been
fortunate in obtaining support to undertake short stays in Australia to
enable me to broaden my research knowledge. I have gained experience in
molecular techniques working with
Jo
Sumner and Jane Melville at Victoria Museum and skills in modelling the
impacts of global change on species distributions working with
Luke Shoo and Steve Williams at
the Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, James Cook
University.
|Ongoing
projects|Publications| |
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Monasterio, C.,
Shoo, L. P., Salvador, A., Siliceo, I. & Díaz, J. A. 2011. Thermal
constraints on embryonic development as a proximate cause for elevational
range limits in two Mediterranean lacertid lizards. Ecography,
in press.
Monasterio, C.,
Salvador, A. & Díaz, J. A. 2010. Altitude and rock cover explain the distribution
and abundance of a Mediterranean alpine lizard. Journal of Herpetology
44: 158-163. [PDF]
Monasterio, C.
Salvador, A. & Díaz, J. A. Competition with wall lizards does not explain
the alpine confinement of Iberian rock lizards: an experimental approach.
Zoology 113: 275-282. [PDF]
Iraeta, P.,
Salvador, A., Monasterio, C. & Díaz, J. A. 2010. Effects of gravidity on the
locomotor performance and escape behaviour of two lizard populations: the
importance of habitat structure. Behaviour 147: 133-150. [PDF]
Monasterio, C.,
Salvador, A. & Díaz, J. A. 2010. Altitude and rock cover explain the distribution
and abundance of a Mediterranean alpine lizard. Journal of Herpetology
44: 158-163.
Monasterio, C.,
Salvador, A., Iraeta, P. & Díaz, J. A. 2009. The effects of thermal biology
and refuge availability on the restricted distribution of an alpine lizard.
Journal of Biogeography 36: 1673-1684. [PDF]
Díaz, J. A., Iraeta, P. &
Monasterio, C. 2006.
Seasonality provokes a shift of thermal preferences in a temperate lizard,
but altitude does not. Journal of Thermal Biology, 31:
237-242. [PDF]
Díaz, J. A., Monasterio, C. &
Salvador, A. 2006.
Abundance, microhabitat selection, and conservation of eyed lizards
Lacerta lepida: a radiotelemetric study.
Journal of Zoology,
268: 295-301. [PDF]
Iraeta, P., Monasterio, C.,
Salvador, A. & Díaz, J. A. 2006.
Mediterranean hatchling lizards grow faster at higher altitude: a reciprocal
transplant experiment. Functional Ecology 20: 865-872.
[PDF] |
