Scavenging for tadpoles in a Denver pond as a child, Cameron Siler always knew he was different. Siler’s childhood fascination with reptiles and amphibians paved the way for his innovative evolutionary research on lizards in Southeast Asia.

Siler, Denver graduate student, departed Sunday for a 10-month research trip to the Philippine Islands. Siler’s field research, funded by a $23,000 Fulbright-Hayes scholarship, focuses on the evolution of limbless lizards in the Philippines. Fulbright-Hayes scholarships are funded by respective host countries; only 25 to 35 scholarships were available in Southeast Asia, Siler said.

Siler said there were 15 to 20 species of lizards that had evolved to become limbless. Siler’s dissertation concentrates on lizards within the genus Brachymeles, which has three known limbless species. These lizards had evolved from above-ground reptiles to reptiles that burrow beneath the soil, Siler said.

“In a burrowing lifestyle,” Siler said, “you can move using much less energy without limbs.”

Siler’s adviser, Rafe Brown, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, said Siler’s research would provide living evidence of the existence of transitional forms of evolution. Some of the lizard species have large legs, some have only stumps for limbs and others have no limbs at all. Brown said the research demonstrated “missing links” to the existence of a common ancestor.

“Because of its clear and easily understandable results,” Brown said, “I think Cameron’s work will be of intense interest to evolutionary biologists, and the public in general.”

Jen Humphrey, communications director for the Natural History Museum and the Biodiversity Institute, said most of the 60 graduate students in the institute conducted field work, but a single trip as long as Siler’s was unusual.

Brown described Siler as a fun person to work with, which made him well liked by overseas collaborators.

“Cameron is an extremely effective graduate student with a take-no-prisoners attitude and a very healthy work ethic,” Brown said. “These traits combine to make him one of the most productive students I have ever known.”

Siler said he would look for an apartment in the capital city of Manila upon arrival. He said much of his research would be conducted while camping in the Philippine forests, where he would collaborate with local researchers.

Much of the research will be aimed at educating the local population about the diverse natural life within the forests of the Philippines, Siler said.

While in the field, Siler will produce photographic field guides to identify the lizards, frogs and snakes in the Philippines. The guides will be translated into English and several languages native to the Philippines then distributed to Philippine government agencies and universities.

“It’s much easier to try to get people to conserve their forest when they know how special the life within it is,” Siler said.

Upon receiving his doctorate, Siler said he hoped to become a tenure-track professor, to continue studying Southeast Asian wildlife and to promote international collaboration through scientific research.

— — Edited by Sonya English