Anole Annals

Anole March Madness 2016!

On March 16, 2016

Anole MM16 Are you ready for March Madness?! No, not the basketball tournament… this year we are staging the very first Anole March Madness! We should acknowledge that we came up with this idea after following the popular Mammal March Madness for the past couple of years and feeling a little left out.

What is Anole March Madness? Just like the basketball tournament, we start with 32 of the best teams from 4 regions. The groups doing battle will be Mainland (Central America and South America) versus Island (Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles). The rules are simple, if a lizard wins a bout it advances, if it loses it is out of the tournament.

Anole-March-Madness: download this pdf, fill in the text boxes, play along!

Don’t worry, no animals will be harmed in any way during this tournament. In fact, the matches are entirely fictional and come from the imaginations of AA contributors Kristin Winchell, Martha Muñoz, and Pavitra Muralidhar. We will pick the winners of each bout based on what is known about the morphology, ecology, and behavior of each species and will give a full recap of the (fictional) battles every few days.

Do your best to predict the winner of each match, and ultimately the champion! Fill in the empty text boxes in the PDF of the bracket above and pick your winners for each match. Take a photo of your completed bracket and tweet it with #AnoleMM2016 so we can all see your picks! You earn 1 point for each correct match in the first round (round of 32), 2 points in the second round (Sweet 16), 4 points in the third round (Elite 8), 8 points for the fourth round (Final 4), and 16 points if you guess the champion. Keep score and let us know how you’re doing! First matches will be posted in a few days. The Championship match will be on April 4th.

Now, meet the teams!

Another Case of Green Anole – Brown Anole Mating

By Jonathan Losos

On March 14, 2016

In All Posts

sagrei carolinensis mating

A common question is whether green anoles (A. carolinensis) and brown anoles (A. sagrei) can interbreed. I am unaware of any hybrids between the two species, and given their long evolutionary separation, it seems unlikely that they could reproduce successfully. Nonetheless, occasional reports of interspecific matings are made, and here’s another.

Mitchell Gazzia posted this photo on his Facebook page, and provided these details:

Took place in late June of 2012 in Melbourne, the Lake Washington area in Brevard County…very close to the intersection of Lake Washington and Turtlemound roads.

A New Genus and Five New Species of Fan-Throated Lizards

By Ambika Kamath

On March 11, 2016

In All Posts

Dewlap morphology and colouration of Fan-throated lizards. Clade 1: A. Sarada darwini sp. nov., B. Sarada deccanensis comb. nov., C. Sitana superba sp. nov.; Clade 2: D. Sitana spinaecephalus sp. nov., E. Sitana laticeps sp. nov.; Clade 3: F. Sitana ponticeriana, G. Sitana visiri sp. nov., H. Sitana cf. bahiri. Scale bar = 10 mm

V. Deepak and his colleagues from five different institutions in India have published a revision of the systematics of fan-throated lizards in India. This work nicely expands on the project of figuring out the diversity of this clade of magnificent lizards, following the description of two new species from Sri Lanka last year.

I’ll be writing more about this paper and these lizards in weeks to come, but for now, here’s a figure from the paper, and below, the abstract!

Abstract

We revise the taxonomy of the agamid genus Sitana Cuvier, 1829, a widely distributed terrestrial lizard from the Indian subcontinent based on detailed comparative analyses of external morphology, osteology and molecular data. We sampled 81 locations spread over 160,000 km<sup>2</sup> in Peninsular India including type localities, which represented two known and five previously undescribed species. Based on general similarity in body shape and dewlap all species were hitherto identified as members of the genus Sitana. However, Sitana deccanensis and two other morphotypes, which are endemic to north Karnataka and Maharashtra in Peninsular India, are very distinct from the rest of the known members of the genus Sitana based on their external morphology and osteology. Moreover, members of this distinct morphological group were monophyletic in the molecular tree, and this clade (clade 1) was sister to two well-supported clades (2 and 3) constituting the rest of the Sitana. The interclade genetic divergence in mtDNA between clade 1 and clades 2 and 3 was 21-23%, whereas clade 2 and clade 3 exhibited 14- 16% genetic divergence. Thus, we designate a new genus name “Sarada” gen. nov. for species represented in Clade 1, which also includes the recently resurrected Sitana deccanensis. We describe two new species in Sarada gen. nov. and three new species in Sitana. Similarity in the dewlap of Sitana and Sarada gen. nov. is attributed to similar function (sexual signaling) and similarity in body shape is attributed to a similar terrestrial life style and/or common ancestry.

Research on How Lizard Brains Work During Aggressive Encounters

By Jonathan Losos

On March 9, 2016

In All Posts

Jaramillo uses a cryostat to process sections of lizard brain as part of her research

From the Trinity University newspage:

Leaping Lizards

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Student researcher Maria Jaramillo lands Sigma Xi grant studying green anole lizards

by Carlos Anchondo ’14

Two male green anole lizards meet in the forest. One lizard has infringed on the territory of the other, who now feels threatened. In a bout of competition, the lizards extend their dewlaps, the flaps of skin beneath their lower jaw, and a faceoff ensues.

Observing this aggressive act, neuroscience major Maria Jaramillo ’17 pondered how the dewlap is processed as a stimulus in the lizards’ brains. She then compared this hostile social behavior with a non-social interaction, like a lizard’s observation of a leaf. How does the lizard’s brain handle each interaction? At what point and why is the brain more active?

To answer these questions, Jaramillo applied for and was awarded a $1,000 grant from Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. The grant money will be used to purchase antibodies, used for immunocytochemistry, as well as other supplies like microscope slides. Jaramillo studies in the lab of biology professor Michele Johnson, a researcher of the evolution of lizard behavior, and collaborated with Johnson during the grant proposal.

“I find the brain very interesting because it controls everything that we do,” Jaramillo says. “I love to study lizards because the wild environments they live in provide all kinds of stimuli, and I want to understand how they process it all.”

For the study, Jaramillo recorded a video of a green anole lizard exposing its dewlap and edited the video, scrambling the pixels of the lizard but maintaining the exact same colors and movements. After removing the social context, Jaramillo analyzed a lizard’s reaction to the modified video in comparison to its reaction to the original. She also tested two lizards together and then played the video without the lizards as an additional control. The lizards were placed in arenas, and Jaramillo observed them using GoPro cameras.

Jaramillo was notified in December 2015 that she had received funding and couldn’t believe the news. She excitedly called Johnson to share her elation, as Jaramillo had been turned down for the grant during the previous application cycle.

“This was a super cool process because Dr. Johnson and I literally built this project together,” Jaramillo says. “I did a lot of the decision making and, even though lizards are not what I am going to study for the rest of my life, it has given me a lot of research experience where I have worked directly with a professor.”

Applying twice for the grant meant that Jaramillo and Johnson received feedback from Sigma Xi evaluators following the initial application. Jaramillo says she was not discouraged after being rejected, but eager to learn how best to improve her chances. A peer tutor for Johnson’s biology class, Jaramillo encourages other not to give up and to “just keep trying.”

From Katy, Texas, Jaramillo plans to pursue medical school after Trinity. Her motivation is to help others with their medical needs and keep them in good health. She says that she has always loved science, and views medicine as a rewarding way to put her interests to good use.

“Health is the thing everyone needs to survive,” Jaramillo says. “For someone who wants to go into medicine, understanding how to conduct research like this is critically important. Studying at Trinity has made me sure that I want to attend medical school and become a doctor.”

Carlos Anchondo is a writer and editor for University Marketing and Communications. He is a 2014 Trinity graduate and can be found on Twitter at @cjanchondo or at canchond@trinity.edu.

Amazonian Green Anole Fails to See the Cryptic Cricket

By Jonathan Losos

On March 7, 2016

In All Posts

The caption says: At first look this image may just look like an Amazon green anole (Anolis punctatus) climbing a tree; but look a little closer… there is a cryptically coloured cricket fooling the predatory eyes of the lizard. Jack Mortimer Photography

On the importance of Dorsal and Tail Crest Illumination in Anolis Signals

By James T. Stroud

On March 4, 2016

In All Posts, Introduced Anoles, Natural History Observations, Notes from the Field

With a flurry of recent attention investigating how background light may influence the signalling efficiency of Anolis dewlaps (1,2,3,4), particularly those inhabiting low-light environments where patches of sunlight appear at a premium, it occurred to me that extended dorsal and tail crests may fall under similar selection. Below are some photos of Puerto Rican crested anoles (Anolis cristatellus) – a species in which males exhibit an enlarged tail crest and the ability to voluntarily erect impressive nuchal and dorsal crests during aggressive interactions (the mechanisms of which are detailed in this previous AA post) – that show how crests may contribute to signalling.

I have no doubt this thought has crossed the minds of many anole scientists before, particularly those current graduate students so successfully studying A. cristatellus and familiar with their ecology and behaviour (namely Alex Gunderson, Kristin Winchell, Matt McElroy, and Luisa Otero). Dewlaps are undoubtedly of primary importance to anole signalling and communication, but what are people’s general thoughts on the relative importance of other morphological features?

Anole Barely Moves While Snail Speeds Past

By Ambika Kamath

On March 2, 2016

In All Posts

Anyone who studies animals behaving in their natural environments knows just how long they can spend doing nothing much. This is most definitely true of anoles as well. My colleague Jon Suh learnt this first hand last summer while working with me on Anolis sagrei in Florida. I think his video (from data he collected on lizard display variation, and sped up by 500%) perfectly captures what it feels like to spend a long time watching a lizard doing almost nothing.

Crayons, Anoles, and a College Education

By Jonathan Losos

On February 29, 2016

In All Posts

Writing on the blog Cultured Vultures, Karl Koweski reports on a community college classroom exercise that involves coloring in anole ecomorphs and Caribbean anoles with different colored crayons. Surprisingly, he’s not thrilled about it.

Brown Anole (A. sagrei) Surveys in Orange County, CA

By James T. Stroud

On February 27, 2016

In Introduced Anoles

Louis Shanghan of the LA Times reports on Greg Pauly‘s field surveys of non-native Cuban brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) and geckos in Orange County neighborhoods

sagrei_california

“The anoles, which are native to Cuba, arrived here about a decade ago as stowaways in nursery plants,” Pauly said as the team strode down a leafy street, methodically scanning sidewalks, brick walls and tree trunks for the stick-like shapes of lizards basking in the sun. “Today, there’s at least 10 to 20 per residential lot in this neighborhood alone.”

“There’s a nice one over there,” he said, nodding toward an anole – about five inches long, adorned with light brown speckles and a bright line running from head to tail – clinging to the side of a front-yard planter box.

Full story here: Scientists survey an Orange County neighborhood’s nonnative lizard populations

As a side note, the details for the original record (as far as I know) of A. sagrei in California are as follows:

The first published documentation was in Herpetological Review 45(4), 2014, an edited version of which you can read below:

ANOLIS SAGREI (Cuban Brown Anole). USA: CALIFORNIA: San Diego Co.: Vista, elev. 158 m) 19 July 2014.
C. Mahrdt, E. Ervin, and L. Geiger. Verified by Bradford D. Hollingsworth. San Diego Natural History Museum (SDSNH 76128–76133).

New county and state record (Granatosky and Krysko 2013. IRCF Rept. Amphib. 20[4]:190–191)
Four adult males and two hatchling specimens were collected on a one-acre parcel landscaped with palms, cycads, and several species of tropical plants and ground cover. Several boulders scattered throughout the parcel were used as perch sites for male lizards. An additional 16 adults and six hatchlings were observed in the two-hour site visit (1030–1230 h). Adults were also observed beyond the property indicating that this population is established and likely expanding through the contiguous tropical landscaping of neighboring properties. According to the property owner, he first observed the species in August 2012 shortly after receiving shipments of palm trees in May–August originating from suppliers located in the Hawaiian Islands.

CLARK R. MAHRDT, Department of Herpetology, San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, California 92102, USA (e-mail: leopardlizard@ cox.net);
EDWARD L. ERVIN, Merkel & Associates, Inc., 5434 Ruffin Road, San Diego, California 92123, USA;
GARY NAFIS, (www.californiaherps.com).

More information on A. sagrei in California can be found here

Another Anole Amputee Doing Just Fine

By Jonathan Losos

On February 25, 2016

In All Posts

I’m always amazed by the ability of anoles to survive–even prosper!–with dramatic injuries. How could a lizard get by missing half of a hind leg? How does it capture prey or escape predators? Display credibly? But they do. We’ve reported incidents of three-legged lizards before, and are always looking for more examples.

The photo above is a fine example, reported by Karen Cusick on Daffodil’s Photo Blog. The brown anole also had a mysterious dent on its site. Must have been a traumatic event.