This year’s herp meetings will be held next week (July 10-15) in Albuquerque. Appropriately enough given the venue, it’s the Steve Poe Lab Show, with eight presentations emanating therefrom. Nonetheless, there are a number of other anole talks as well. Below is the list of the talks and below the fold, and attached as a pdf, are the abstracts.
AA is looking for reporters to provide eyewitness accounts of these talks. Many of the abstracts are cagey about what their actual findings are, no doubt out of paranoia and, more likely, an early abstract submission deadline combined with talks that are probably still being finalized. Those attending these talks, please let us know–any level of detail would be welcome!
Titles:
Julian Davis, Steven Poe
0702 Herp. Systematics & Evolution, San Miguel, Saturday 13 July 2013
A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Anolis pentaprion species group
Anthony Geneva, Richard Glor
0746 SSAR SEIBERT AWARD SYSTEMATICS & EVOLUTION, San Miguel, Friday 12 July 2013
Reproductive Isolation in Anolis lizards
Levi Gray, Robbie Burger
0512 SSAR SEIBERT AWARD PHYSIOLOGY & MORPHOLOGY, Galisteo/Aztec, Friday 12 July 2013
Do allometries reveal evolutionary constraints in Anolis lizards?
Aja King, Steven Poe
0610 SSAR EVOLUTION, SYSTEMATICS, AND GENETICS BEST STUDENT POSTER AWARD, Poster Session I, NW Exhibit Hall, Friday 12 July 201
Colonization and Differentiation in the Honduran Bay Islands Populations of Anolis allisoni
Ian Latella, Steve Poe
0662 SSAR ECOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, AND DISTRIBUTION BEST STUDENT POSTER AWARD, Poster Session I, NW Exhibit Hall, Friday 12 July 2013
Habitat Use in Naturalized Anolis Lizard Communities
Deidre Linden, Steven Poe
0692 SSAR EVOLUTION, SYSTEMATICS, AND GENETICS BEST STUDENT POSTER AWARD, Poster Session I, NW Exhibit Hall, Friday 12 July 2013
Estimation of phylogeny of the Anolis cupreus (Squamata: Dactyloidae) species group
Kirsten Nicholson, John Phillips, Sarah Burton
0288 Poster Session III, NW Exhibit Hall, Sunday 14 July 2013
Biogeography of Norops capito: Second Example of a Contradictory Pattern
Steven Poe
0460 Poster Session III, NW Exhibit Hall, Sunday 14 July 2013
Identification Key for Anolis Lizards
Steven Poe
0455 Herp Systematics & Evolution, San Miguel, Saturday 13 July 2013
Phylogeny of Anolis
Bradley Truett, Steven Poe
0471 Poster Session II, NW Exhibit Hall, Saturday 13 July 2013
Revisiting the Aquatic Anole Ecomorph
Kristin Winchell
0664 SSAR ECOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, AND DISTRIBUTION BEST STUDENT POSTER AWARD, Poster Session I, NW Exhibit Hall, Friday 12 July 2013
Phenotypic shifts in urban populations of the tropical lizard, Anolis cristatellus
Abstracts below the fold
Julian Davis, Steven Poe
University of New Mexico, New Mexico, USA
A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Anolis pentaprion species group
The lizard genus Anolis is the largest amniote genus with 371 species spanning North America, Central America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Anolis has been a model system for a variety of studies from behavioral, ecological, and morphological research to studies of biogeography, adaptive radiation, and character displacement. Despite decades of work, the phylogeny of Anolis has been difficult to elucidate. The relationships of mainland forms are especially poorly understood. The Anolis pentaprion species group is found from southeastern Mexico to northwestern Colombia from sea level to approximately 2000 m. These small to medium-sized Anolis have short limbs and tail and a distinctive lichenous dorsal color pattern. Here I present a phylogenetic analysis of the pentaprion group, hereby defined to include A. beckeri, A. charlesmeyersi, A. cristifer, A. fungosus, A. ortoni, A.pentaprion, A. salvini, A. utilensis, and A. sulcifrons. I use molecular and morphological data and Bayesian and likelihood-based approaches to examine the evolutionary history of the pentaprion group and test its monophyly.
Anthony Geneva, Richard Glor
The University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
Reproductive Isolation in Anolis lizards
Although speciation is defined as the evolution of reproductive isolation, our knowledge of how various forms of reproductive isolation accumulate during speciation remains rather limited. Detailed multi-generation experimental studies with a small number of representatives from several major clades – including plants, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals – suggest that the evolution of reproductive isolation is often characterized by four general patterns: (1) heterogametic hybrids disproportionally suffer the consequences of barriers (Haldane’s Rule), (2) asymmetric sterility and/or inviability of hybrids (Darwin’s Corollary to HR), (3) prezygotic isolation evolves before postzygotic isolation and (4) hybrid sterility evolves before hybrid inviability.
Here we report the results of a multi-generation reproductive isolation experiment designed to test these patterns with two closely-related species of Anolis lizards. Our work is among the largest and most detailed study of its kind on any squamate reptile, a group that accounts for nearly 30% of tetrapod species. Our work is also among the first studies to investigate intrinsic reproductive isolation between closely-related and morphologically cryptic species diagnosed by recent surveys of geographic genetic variation among populations in nature.
Levi Gray, Robbie Burger
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Do allometries reveal evolutionary constraints in Anolis lizards?
Adaptive radiations can offer unique insights to the evolutionary and macroecological processes shaping morphological diversification. Anolis lizards exhibit evolutionary radiations in both mainland and island environments, resulting in comparable ranges in body size. Given that selection pressures are expected to vary greatly in the diverse environments inhabited by anoles, it seems unlikely that universal patterns of allometry would emerge. Here, using data from 292 species of anoles, we demonstrate universal scaling in two ecologically relevant traits: head length and hindlimb length. These allometries reveal statistically identical slopes and intercepts for both island and mainland groups, regardless of ecomorph status or environment. These shared patterns suggest fundamental evolutionary constraints to morphology and thus ecology in the Anolis radiations.
Aja King, Steven Poe
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Colonization and Differentiation in the Honduran Bay Islands Populations of
Anolis allisoni
Anolis allisoni Barbour occurs throughout Islas de Bahia off Honduras, and was originally described from Roatan, Bay Islands. This species also occurs throughout much of Cuba where it was previously considered conspecific with A. porcatus but was separated based mainly on ear morphology (elongate in A. allisoni, round in A. porcatus; Ruibal and Williams, 1961). Populations of A. allisoni inhabiting the Bay Islands are geographically isolated from populations inhabiting Cuba by approximately 1,100 km of open ocean. The geographic barriers between Bay Islands populations, and especially between these populations and Cuba, should perpetuate genotypic and phenotypic divergence. We use morphological and molecular analyses of fresh specimens and tissues from the type locality of A. allisoni to address the following questions in Bay islands A. allisoni: whether the invasion of A. allisoni to the Bay Islands was the result of single or multiple dispersal events from Cuba; whether populations of A. allisoni from the Bay Islands are morphologically and/or molecularly differentiated from Cuban
populations; if so, whether this variation warrants species distinction.
Ian Latella, Steve Poe
University of New Mexico; Museum of Southwestern Biology, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Habitat Use in Naturalized Anolis Lizard Communities
Human-mediated introductions of species have resulted in novel combinations of species in communities worldwide. Non-indigenous species may have negative impacts on their new environments, but they also provide unique opportunities to study patterns of community assembly and habitat partitioning. Shared patterns among natural and naturalized communities may suggest universal rules for community assembly and maintenance.
Anolis lizards form natural communities of at least 12 species and naturalized communities of up to six species. Anolis has been a model system for study of community patterns and processes in native communities, but little is known about communities of naturalized Anolis. We collected habitat use, body size, and abundance data for communities in Florida and Bermuda that include naturalized species of Anolis. We compared our data on naturalized communities to existing data on natural communities.
Deidre Linden, Steven Poe
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Estimation of phylogeny of the Anolis cupreus (Squamata: Dactyloidae) species group
The Anolis cupreus species group of Savage and Guyer (1989) includes Anolis cupreus (Hallowell 1860), which encompassed A. c. hoffmani, A. c. spilomelas (Hallowell 1860), Anolis c. dariense (Fitch and Seigel 1984), and Anolis c. macrophallus (Werner 1917) at that time; Anolis dollfusianus (Bocourt 1873) and Anolis villai (Fitch and Henderson 1976). Two of the four subspecies (A. c. dariense and A. c. macrophallus) have been elevated to species status (Köhler, Günther and Kreutz 1999). We add A. yoroensis, which, subsequent to the Savage and Guyer treatment, was diagnosed relative to A. cupreus due to its similarity with this species. The members of this species group are distinguished by male dewlap color, the condition of the nasal scale, dorsal coloration, and scale counts (Hallowell 1860; Fitch, Echelle and Echelle 1972; Savage 2002; Kohler 2008). Species of the A. cupreus species group are found in Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, parts of southern Mexico, and southeastern Guatemala (Stuart 1955; Fitch, Echelle and Echelle 1972; Fitch and Seigel 1984; Nicholson, McCranie and Kohler 2000). Previous authors have evaluated the relationships of A. cupreus to other anoles in Central America based on morphological data (Fitch, Echelle and Echelle 1972; Poe 2004) and molecular techniques (Nicholson 2002; Nicholson et al. 2005), but no other cupreus group species have been included in phylogenetic analyses. We use mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequence data to estimate relationships among the Anolis cupreus species group of Central America and test the monophyly of this previously informally recognized group.
0288 Poster Session III, NW Exhibit Hall, Sunday 14 July 2013
Kirsten Nicholson1, John Phillips2, Sarah Burton1
1Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA, 2University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA
Biogeography of Norops capito: Second Example of a Contradictory Pattern
Previous literature has posited that the genus Norops originated in the Caribbean after the separation of North and South America, left members in Cuba and Jamaica, and disbursed overwater to Mexico, subsequently giving rise to a monophyletic clade that distributed themselves southwards until they invaded South America, presumably after the closure of the Panamanian Portal. However, a recent paper proposed a contradictory hypothesis suggesting that entire genus Norops originated prior to the separation of North and South America. It was suggested that perhaps Norops was widespread prior to the separation of North and South America, and that perhaps some mainland Norops lineages were separated on the mainland when the proto-Greater Antilles moved eastward. We present evidence from Norops capito, an arboreal species, and the second anole species to show a distinct south to north biogeographic pattern in contrast to previous hypotheses positing a north to south distribution. Our analysis of DNA sequence data from samples throughout the range of N. capito show this south to north distribution, in agreement with previously presented data for the N. limifrons group, but in contrast to data we presented previously for the N. humilis group, which shows a north to south distribution. A picture is emerging suggesting support for widespread Norops distribution prior to the separation of North and South America.
Steven Poe
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Identification Key for Anolis Lizards
Anolis lizards are notoriously difficult to identify. In 1995 Ernest Williams and collaborators published a landmark paper describing their “computer approach” to identification of Anolis. This work employed the program Hypercard to produce an application that matched a set of character scores from an unknown specimen to scores in Williams’ vast database of Anolis lizards. This “Anolis Handlist” had obvious advantages over its paper dichotomous counterparts. In matching keys, accurate identification is not dependent on correct decisions on early couplets, as it is in dichotomous keys, and a set of similar and possible species rather than a single final verdict may be rendered.
The Williams et al. approach was ahead of its time. Today such electronic matching-based keys are commonplace. The Lucid platform has become the commonest means to present such keys, probably due to its widespread availability, functionality, and ease of use. Here I apply the Lucid platform to produce a key to all species of Anolis lizards.
Steven Poe
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Phylogeny of Anolis
We present new DNA sequence data from two mitochondrial (ND2, COI) and one nuclear gene (ecel) to elucidate the phylogeny of Anolis. We combine these data with morphological data and published DNA data to produce a comprehensive phylogenetic estimate of Anolis. We use this estimate to assess taxonomic and biogeographic issues in Anolis.
Bradley Truett, Steven Poe
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Revisiting the Aquatic Anole Ecomorph
We use both nuclear and mitochondrial genes (NDAH2, CO1, and ECEL1) to build a phylogeny and identify evolutionary relationships between aquatic anoles (Anolis barkeri, A. robinsoni, A. riparius, A. aquaticus, A. lionotus, A. poecilopus, A. vermicularis, A. eugenegrahami, and A. maculagula) and a potential new aquatic anole species from Monte Verde Costa Rica. Aquatic lifestyle among anoles appears to have multiple origins, with no phylogenetic basis of adaptation to aquatic conditions. I measured 24 morphological characters to evaluate aquatic ecomorphology. Using these measurements, the ancestral traits of non-aquatic sister species were predicted in order to identify potential intermediate aquatic traits.
Kristin Winchell
University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
Phenotypic shifts in urban populations of the tropical lizard, Anolis cristatellus
Urbanization is widespread and intensifying globally, altering environments and imposing unique pressures on animal species that live in urban areas. Prior studies have revealed adaptive responses to urbanization in a range of plant and animal species, although relatively few have involved reptiles. We investigated morphological adaptation in the tropical lizard, Anolis cristatellus, in three paired urban and natural sites in Puerto Rico. Our preliminary results show that urban populations have longer hindlimbs and forelimbs, more subdigital lamellae, and higher body temperatures. Lizards in urban areas were captured on broader surfaces and nearly 50% of urban captures were on manmade substrates such as metal fence posts and painted concrete. We hypothesize that phenotypic differences between urban and natural populations may be due to selection for improved locomotor performance on the wider and smoother artificial substrates typical of urban habitats. Genetic analyses of neutral markers show high gene flow between paired populations, suggesting that differences between populations are not likely to be due to genetic drift. In future research we will directly measure selection in urban habitats as well as test for the genetic basis of the phenotypic trait shifts found in the present study using common-garden rearing experiments. Understanding the novel selective pressures faced by A. cristatellus in urban areas, along with how this species may be adaptively responding to these challenges, has the potential to provide considerable insight into the mechanism of rapid microevolution and has implications for conservation of urban-persistent species.
Bonus Abstract!!! (in thanks for providing info on the meeting):
James Stroud1, Graeme Gillespie2
1Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA, 2National Environmental Research Program, Northern Territory, Australia
Habitat niche partitioning in two tropical leaf-litter lizards (Scincidae)
Unlocking the complex relationships of factors influencing community structure remains a core topic in ecology. We present data on the habitat associations of two sympatric tropical leaf-litter lizards, Sphenomorphus variegatus (n=2695) and Eutropis rudis (n=991), from the under-studied forests of Buton Island (south east Sulawesi, Indonesia). Structural habitat variables were recorded at two spatial scales, to investigate the relationship between micro- and macro-habitat on species distribution. Although microhabitat associations were similar, species-specific responses to broader scale habitat structure were observed. E. rudis, a heliotherm, were strongly associated to disturbed habitat structure, indicated by high numbers of logs, and log size, as basking potential is high due to higher levels of ground sunlight due to lower understorey cover. The thermoconforming S. variegatus is more strongly associated with shaded forest, where the larger E. rudis (df=1443, p<0.0001) is limited by lack of basking sites. The importance of thermal conditions is highlighted by daily phenology, which sees activity peak during midday for E. rudis but maintain throughout the day by S. variegatus. Further research investigating the dietry analysis and thermal ecology would strengthen our overall understanding of the most important factors affecting organisation in this community.
- New Article on Anolis roosevelti and the Question of Its Survival - March 16, 2024
- Lizard Diving Champions: Trading Heat For Safety Underwater - March 15, 2024
- Do Large Brown Anoles Get the Most Mating Opportunities? - January 6, 2024
Gunther Koehler
Here is a photo of some of the anologists present at the herp meeting in Albuquerque (from left to right): Brian Crother, Kirsten Nicholson, Carl Lieb, Jay Savage, Gunther Koehler, Steven Poe, and Craig Guyer.