7/29/2019 Iguana Alternative Hypothesis

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/iguana-alternative-hypothesis 1/3

Summary 

They're 5,000 miles away from anyrelatives and only exist on twoislands in the Pacific Ocean.

View 2 photos »

BYU biology professor Jack Sites looks at an iguana.Iguanas are Sites' field of study.

Mark A. Philbrick

PROVO — They're 5,000 miles away from any relatives

and only exist on two islands in the Pacific Ocean.

For decades, scientists didn't have a good answer as to

how four species of iguanas native to North, Central and

South America ended up on the Pacific islands of Fiji

and Tonga.

"In the field of biogeography, this has been a puzzle for a

long time," said BYU biology professor Jack Sites.The prevailing theory was that iguanas from the New 

 World floated thousands of miles to the Pacific islands

on logs or reed rafts over several months.

It's not uncommon for iguanas to take to the ocean,

after all, that's how they got to the Galapagos Islands

from Ecuador, Sites explained.

But that was a 600-mile journey, where as Fiji and

Tonga are nearly 5,000 miles and six months away —

too much for even the most robust sailing iguana.

So, Sites and his co-author, Bryce Noonan, a biology 

professor at the University of Mississippi, proposed thatthe scaly reptiles simply walked to the islands millions of 

 years ago across a giant continental land mass called

Gondwana, which was made up of today's Africa,

 Australia, Antarctica and parts of Asia.

LDS Church creates 58 miss ions in response tosurge in missionary applications

How to miss a childhood: The dangers of payingmore attention to your cell phone than your children

What about me? Growing up with a seriously sicksibling

 Across SiteIn Utah

Inside Utah State Prison: Should it s tay or...

Construction on Provo Tabernacle gets off the...

1 man dead following chase on I-15 that...

Curing Utah's 'silent epidemic'

U. football player kicked off team, charged...

Hale Centre Theatre moving to Sandy

Deseret News gets national attention in study...

Columbine survivor in Utah offers messages of...

Get The Deseret News Everywhere

Subscribe Mobile Facebook Twitter RSS Email

 Across SiteIn Utah

Huntsman backs gay marriage, calls for... 167

U. football player kicked off team,... 49

NRAchief wraps his words in Second... 43

Curing Utah's 'silent epidemic' 31

Inside Utah State Prison: Should it... 30

Housing, job protection 19

BYU ranked third, U. and USU among top... 18

 

Salt Lake City: Overcast 28° Login/Register 

Sear ch or keyword Deseret News  

Powered by YAHOO! SEARCH

News Sports Moneywise Opinion Faith Family Obituaries Classifieds Cars Jobs Deals

Utah World & Nation Polit ics Business More News

 About this ad

Forget the rafts, iguanas may have walked toPacific islands of Tonga, Fiji

They may have before continental drift, BYU professor says

Print Font [+] [-] 1 Comment »BySara Israelsen-Hartley, Deseret NewsPublished: Sunday, Jan. 31 2010 12:00 a.m. MST

Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest 00 0 0 0

 What You May Have Missed

Sample morning edition email

 About this ad

Most Popular

Most Commented

Mobile

Sign up for morning or af ternoon updates

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

7/29/2019 Iguana Alternative Hypothesis

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/iguana-alternative-hypothesis 2/3

 Anonymous

Featured

Comments

Combining information about geology and the age of 

the Fijian and Tongan archipelagos, with fossil evidence

and "molecular clock" DNA analysis of a large sample of 

iguana DNA, Sites and Noonan discovered that the

Pacific island iguanas have ancestors old enough — 50

million to 60 million years old — to have existed on the

Gondwanan land mass.

"We're pretty confident that we have at least put forth a

 very robust, credible alternative hypothesis compared to

a 5,000-mile crossing of the Pacific on a raft," Sites said.

Their research was published in the January edition of 

 American Naturalist.

For more information, visit

 www.journals.uchicago.edu/action/showStoryContent?

doi=10.1086%2F%2Fpr.2010.01.11.2589.

e-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com

Could they have hitched a ride with some of the first humans to travel there?

4:51 p.m. Jan. 27, 2010 Top comment

DeseretNews.com encourages a civil dialogue among its readers. We welcome your thoughtful comments.— About comments

Sara Israelsen-Hartley 

Sara Israelsen-Hartley is a reporter for the Deseret News where she covers how faith informs the lives of individuals from all backgrounds, as well as how faith ischallenged and protected in the public square. During her more ..

Utah trooper faces lawsuit for making... 15

Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest 00 0 0 0

See all 1 comment »

Comments Leave a comment »

 About the Author

Connect:

 About this ad

 

 About this ad

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

7/29/2019 Iguana Alternative Hypothesis

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/iguana-alternative-hypothesis 3/3

Hale Centre Theatre moving

Theater co-founders Mark andSally Dietlein announcedMonday that they havereached an agreement.

Statewide campaign

In the past two years,pertussis, or whooping cough,has been on the risethroughout the nation.

Tackling grief 

 Andrew Rich, former BYUfootball player visits withMitchell Jones who hasDuchenne musculardystrophy.

Home »Blogs

Topics

Lists

Movies

Columnists

Live Events

News »Utah news

World & Nation

Politics

Business

Education

Salt Lake CountyUtah County

Davis County

Police/Courts

Legislature

Weather 

Immigration

News Wire

Sports »Utah Jazz

Sports Picks

BYU Cougars

Utah Utes

Utah State Aggies

High school sports

Live Events

Rock

Harmon

Real Salt Lake

Scores and Stats

On TV

NFLMLB

Salt Lake Bees

Grizzlies

Utah Valley Wolverines

Weber State Wildcats

Southern Utah University

Sports Wire

Moneywise »MoneyPolitics

Work Life

Pocketbook

Opinion »Editorials

Op-Eds

Letters

Political Cartoons

Faith »Featured Faiths

MormonTimes

LDS Church News

Mission Reunions

Faith Wire

Family »Marriage & Parenting

Family Media

Movie Guide

Calendar 

TV Listings

Family Lif e Wire

Special Sections »Census

City Creek

Decision 2012

Education Week

Fire Watch

LDS General Conference

Mormons in America

Olympics

Outdoor Retailer 

Rugby

Sports Picks

Sundance FilmFestival

Utah BlazeUtah Grizzlies

Voter Guide

Print Subscription About us Contact us FAQ Feedback Jobs RSS E-Edition Privacy policy Terms of Use Legal notices Advertise with us

Recommended Stories

pacific islandsFind pacific islands Today. Shop pacificislands atwww.Target.com

Credit ReportsLearn what impacts your credit scoreand how to get aOnlineHomeRefinance.net

Get Rid of WrinklesCall (877) 512-5574 & get rid of Wrinkles & Sagging Skinwww.LifestyleLift.com

Ads by Yahoo!

 About this ad

Home News Sports Moneywise Opinion Faith Family Obituaries

 About this ad

Sign up for morning or afternoon updates

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com