Evolutionary ecology of stripe-necked musk turtles ( Sternotherus peltifer ) in the Cahaba River drainage

........................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................ iii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. vii List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1: General introduction.................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Ecomorphological variation of shell shape in stripe-necked musk turtles ................ 10 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 10 Methods........................................................................................................................... 14 Results ............................................................................................................................. 18 Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 3: Reproductive patterns and preliminary test of optimal egg size theory in central Alabama stripe-necked musk turtles (Sternotherus peltifer) ...................................................... 34 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 34 Methods........................................................................................................................... 37 Results ............................................................................................................................. 39 Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 4: Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 49 References .................................................................................................................................. 51 Appendix 1: Locations of sampling sites .................................................................................... 65 Appendix 2: Museum specimens examined ............................................................................... 66