Duke University Press Release. Check out the cool video!
In 2004, Hurricane Francis wiped out all Caribbean lizards found on the keys near the Bahamas.
Seeing an opportunity to study evolution, Duke biologist Manuel Leal and his colleagues took lizards from a larger, nearby island, paired them up and then put the couples on seven of the small keys.
The scientists came back year after year to check on their experiment.
They observed the lizards’ legs getting shorter over time. But, the lizards’ legs did not all shorten to the same size, a hint of the founder effect, where traits from a founding species persist after years of adaptation. It is one of the rare times scientists have seen this phenomenon in nature.
The first results of the experiment were published in a Feb. 2 Science Express article.
You can read more about the study here. And how’s this for a newspaper article title: “Lowly lizards settle ‘founder effect’ theory“?
Citation: “Founder Effects Persist Despite Adaptive Differentiation: A Field Experiment with Lizards.” J.J. Kolbe, J.B. Losos, M. Leal, T.W. Schoener and D.A. Spiller. Science Express. Feb. 2012.
With the natives naturally drown, a very cool “Adam and Eve” opportunity. I noticed that Iron Cay and the reference islands are generally larger than the founder islands. Even if similar food sources exist, there is no indication the sources are comparative or otherwise adequate in all cases. Any chance nutrition variances affected ontogeny? Were data collected on the overall size and condition of the founders? Would be interesting to reverse the study to look for expected limb lengthening. I don’t imagine, however, that hurricanes are very generous with large vegetation.
I’ve always said that a study has really made a “splash” when it makes its way onto the Huffington Post. Looks like this fits the bill:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/03/lizards-evolution-islands_n_1250856.html?ref=green
Nice article in the Washington Post today
Here’s a funny piece.
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