Author: Jonathan Losos Page 108 of 133

Professor of Biology and Director of the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in Saint Louis. I've spent my entire professional career studying anoles and have discovered that the more I learn about anoles, the more I realize I don't know.

If this is Ron Paul, what ecomorph is Rick Santorum?

Holy smokes! It turns out that Republican electoral dynamics are completely explicable by reference to…Anolis lizard community ecology! So says noted Stanford ecologist Marc Feldman. Santorum, Paul and Romney are specialized to use different niches, and Gingrich apparently is a generalist that is having trouble competing with the specialists. Given that Feldman is from Stanford, he probably had the Lesser Antilles in mind, given the work of Joan Roughgarden. But given that there are three extant “specialists,” and that the Lesser Antilles never sport more than two species, comparison to the Greater Antilles is probably more apt, which leads to the question: which ecomorph do each of the candidates represent?

Crouching Anolis, Hidden Dragon: The Stunning Sequel to Clash of the Anole Titans

By Jonathan Losos

On March 5, 2012

In Natural History Observations

Clash of the Anole Titans

From the author of “Clash of the Anole Titans” comes this poetic tale of youth redeemed, power lost, and grace under pressure. Don’t miss it.

Year Of The Lizard Poster Features Beautiful Anolis Grahami

By Jonathan Losos

On March 2, 2012

In All Posts

Don’t think I’ve ever seen one this shade of turquoise. Anyone know where it’s from?

As we all know, 2012 has been designated the Year of the Lizard. To stay up-to-date on lizardy festivities, as well as to stay abreast of issues in lizard conservation, consult http://www.parcplace.org/news-a-events/year-of-the-lizard.html. The poster can be downloaded at that site as well.

Get Your Anole Founder Effect Paper Here!

By Jonathan Losos

On March 1, 2012

In New Research

The good folks at Science magazine are giving away copies of the recent paper for free! Get yours today. Just click here.

Knight Anole Eating a Bird!

By Jonathan Losos

On February 26, 2012

In Natural History Observations

Knight anole eating a bird! Photo courtesy of Paul Richards.

In their recent paper on home range of A. equestris, Nicholson and Richards reported on a knight anole consuming a migrating blue-gray gnatcatcher. Here are the full details, in the words of Paul Richards:

“Kirsten Nicholson and I were attempting to resight one of our radio transmitter equipped A. equestris. Resighting transmitted individuals was difficult as they are hard to see even when we have a clear signal. We would regularly spend 15-20min search, and have a 50% change of resighting a transmitted individual (or less, I cannot remember – but we can probably estimate this from our notes). I saw a Blue-gray gnatcatcher land on a branch right in our general search area that was about a 2m diameter zone of the canopy of a small tree at about 3-5m height. I looked away continuing the search and seconds later I heard an alarm call, looked back to the spot and saw the A. equestris in the picture with the bird in its mouth. This A. equestris was unmarked, and I do not recall ever resighting the transmitted individual that we detected in the area. We can check our notes but I think it took at least 20min for this A. equestris to finish eating the gnatcatcher. I recall in using the branch to wipe/swipe its jaw across, one side the the other, repeatedly, to help get the bird in its mouth.”

New Study on Color Change In Green Anoles

By Jonathan Losos

On February 24, 2012

In New Research

Green anoles can change from green to brown. Occasionally, they do it only part way. Photo from http://www.floridagardener.com/img/critters/Greenanole.jpg

Widely, if inaccurately, known as the American chameleon, Anolis carolinensis is renowned for its ability to change color from a sparkling emerald to a deep brown. Surprisingly, we don’t really know what factors determine whether a particular lizard chooses to be green or brown at a particular time.

Here’s what I had to say about it in Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree (pp. 279-281; I’ve omitted most references here):

“In theory, we might expect green anoles to match their background, turning green when in vegetation and brown when against a woody surface. Although widely believed, this idea is not strongly supported (reviewed in Jenssen et al., Herp. Monographs, 1995).

Cabela’s Panfish Poles For Lizard Catching: Hope Springs Eternal

By Jonathan Losos

On February 20, 2012

In Research Methods

The Anole Annals community was rocked recently by news that Cabela’s 10-foot, collapsible panfish poles–ideal for anole catching–are no longer available. Panic and pandemonium have ensued, but fear not: all may not be lost. In response to a comment I lodged on their website, I received this response: “We do still carry item number 115800. You are welcome to go to our web site cabelas.com and search the item number to see if that is what you are looking for. If not please call our customer service number of 1-800-237-8888 and ask to speak to a products associate who may be able to locate the one we used to carry and help with the manufacturer’s name and number” (I had asked for info to contact the manufacter directly). Melissa Woolley did so and was told that they are listed as backordered and should be available in late April. So, maybe there is still hope. I would like to urge all concerned anolians to go to Cabela’s Customer Service webpage and say something to encourage Cabela’s to restock the panfish pole pronto! https://cabelas.custhelp.com/app/ask

Knight anoles in the Bahamas

By Jonathan Losos

On February 19, 2012

In Introduced Anoles

Knight anole from Grand Bahama. Photo courtesy of Daniel Murray.

A population of Anolis equestris has been reported from the island of Grand Bahamas. Specifically near Our Lucaya, living in a stand of dilly trees.

Only A. sagrei is native to Grand Bahama (which is somewhat remarkable given the size of the island), but equestris is the third introduced anole there, following distichus and a green anole (either carolinensis or smaragdinus, but I’m not sure if it is clear which). Is anyone aware of knight anoles elsewhere in the Bahamas? They seem to be getting around the Caribbean, as they have shown up in New Providence in the Bahamas, as well as Grand Cayman and the Turks and Caicos (see Knapp et al. and Powell et al. chapters in book discussed here). Given their size, they seem an unlikely stow-away, although eggs could be transported in nursery plants. The pet trade has also been implicated as a possibility.

Anolis Headlines A Major New Art Exhibit

By Jonathan Losos

On February 16, 2012

In Anole Art, Literature, and Humor

Calling all German-speaking Anole Annals aficionados. Just what the heck does this say? Some Dutch speakers loosely translated this as an announcement of a new art exhibit on sex. Richtig? A German-to-English translation website helpfully translates this as: “Light signals, the correct reputation or Pushups? From a research group from the mountain wildlife shows the state museum of natural history in Stuttgart until May 2012 in the exhibition “sex.” It is also about phenomena such as infidelity or patchwork-families.”

Thanks to Susanne Renner for her eagle eye out for lizards in adverts.

Anole Love

By Jonathan Losos

On February 14, 2012

In Anole Art, Literature, and Humor

The management here at Anole Annals feels responsible for putting up an appropriate, anole-themed Valentine Day’s post. Unfortunately, our normally reliable stable of incredibly talented and imaginative authors has not come up with the expected image of an anoline cupid, an anole starstruck with love, or some such, so we’re in a bit of a bind. It’s not too late, creative types–there’s still 5 valentine hours left here in North America!

However, in their absence, we thought a little googling would solve the problem. Typing in “anole love” found only one appropriate, G-rated image, and it came from…Anole Annals (below)! So we settled for the intriguing book cover above, which of course leads to the question: has anyone read this provocative romance novel?

read all about it here: https://www.anoleannals.org/2012/01/03/asymmetrical-dewlap-color-in-anolis-lineatus-on-curacao/