Anoles are models for studying evolution in the wild. Not only do anoles have a history of repeatedly diversifying to specialize in the same types of microhabitats in the same ways across the Greater Antilles, these lizards also have a tendency to adapt on rapid timescales to environmental change — be it the addition or subtraction of a predator or competitor, a polar vortex, a change to the structural environment, or a hurricane.
Anoles are also models for urban evolution. Why? Anoles are found abundantly across the Caribbean in urban and forest environments where they specialize in divergent microenvironments characterized by shifts in climate and physical structure. Urban habitats tend to be warmer, drier, more open, and dominated by buildings and impervious surfaces instead of vegetation — providing the perfect opportunity for repeated adaptation to a novel combination of environmental conditions. In other words, Caribbean cities provide a replicated natural laboratory to study adaptation as it happens when these lizards colonize and thrive in urbanizing areas. And there is no shortage of urban-tolerant and urbanophilic anole species to choose from!
Species of Anolis lizards are found in urban environments across the Caribbean (photos CC-BY K. Winchell; Earth at night by NASA).
