Well, more precisely, anoles are more smarter than you might think than chimps are smarter than you might think, according to the Daily Planet TV that airs on the Canadian Discovery Channel. Yesterday’s episode includeded a segment “Ten Animals that Are Smarter Than You Think” that featured the cognitive abilities of Puerto Rican green anoles (A. evermanni) based on the work of (and showing a video made by) Manuel Leal.
Since my previous posts on Roatanian anoles, it’s come to my attention that A. sagrei has not been sighted on Roatan in quite a long time, and in fact some believe that it was never there at all. The photo to the left should dispel any such rumors. It certainly isn’t common–from my very brief time there–but it’s present. Said to be introduced in McCranie et al.’s book on Bay Islands herps.
You would have thought that Anolis allisoni couldn’t get any more handsome!
This one from Susan Perkins will be hard to top.
Photo by Janson Jones from dust tracks on the web.
That’s what’s happening in Florida, according to dust tracks on the web.
Sondra Vega, a graduate student at the University of Puerto Rico, writes:
A green anole eating a piece of fruit that fell from a bird feeder. Photo from http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_I_xaKqQzxyY/R4g96myXR_I/
In lizards, omnivory/frugivory is considered unusual and particular of some species; even though dietary studies indicate that many species add plant products to their diet. In spite of the fact that seeds and fruits have been reported in stomach content or fecal pellets of Anolis, their importance and contribution to the diet of these lizards is still unknown. At present, the general consensus is to categorize Anolis as strict insectivores. Therefore the extent by which omnivory/frugivory plays a role in the Anolis diet still needs to be assessed.
My research aims to determine how the variations in food abundance in two forests at the northern limestone region of Puerto Rico affect the degree of omnivory/frugivory and trophic position of Anolis lizards. I am using stable isotope technology to analyze the omnivory/frugivory and trophic position of the Anolis lizard as well to quantify the importance of fruits to the diet of the omnivorous Anolis species. Stable isotopes are a novel technique that has the potential to elucidate diets, capture interactions such as trophic omnivory, and track energy or mass flow through ecological communities. The information will help to better comprehend the functional role of Anolis lizards in the dynamic and structure of food webs and in ecosystem function, as well as the dynamics of vegetation in tropical forests. Although this project is focused on anole lizard species of Puerto Rico, the findings are of relevance for understanding of islands where lizards are also a dominant component of ecosystems.
In my last post, I discussed my use of a new polymer clay, 3P QuickCureClay, in sculpting anoles. Several commenters were interested in learning more about this medium and its potential for making models to assess predator marks.
I’ve now created a demonstration video of the clay which displays its unique properties and versatility (plus, newly finished anole sculptures make an appearance!):
Ventral and dorsal view of polydactyl anole, click to enlarge.
As Rich Glor mentioned recently, we are in the second year of an experimental hybrid cross between two bark anole species. Although we are still early in this year’s experiment, we have had about 50 eggs hatch and, surprisingly, two have had malformed forelimb digits. The first was missing two toes on one of its forelimbs and died a few days after hatching. The second (pictured above) hatched with six toes, but has been otherwise healthy. Each of these toes has an intact claw, and at least one has lamellae. The fourth digit (from closest to the body counting outwards) seems to lack the (expected) scansor and is permanently bent upwards.
Mats Olsson and colleagues (2004) found malformations in the limbs and jaws and kinked backbones in crosses between populations of Lacerta agilis. Of the over 800 hatchlings in last year’s F1 experiment, we found a few animals with malformed spines, but not a single animal with digit or jaw issues. It’s particularly interesting (to me at least) that these issues have manifested in the backcross generation, an issue I hope to investigate further as more animals hatch.
Polydactyly has been reported in captive-bred crested geckos (Correlophus ciliatus), but I couldn’t find anything about anoles. Has anyone else seen something similar in anoles? If so, please let us know in the comments.
Anole masks. Note: The dewlaps looked a lot pinker under natural light!
Organisms that colonize a new landmass are often faced with strange environments and selection pressures. Biologists are no exception. Having quasi-recently emigrated to England, I can tell you that, from a North American perspective, the UK can be pretty strange. One of the novelties, along with saying ‘Ta’ and not heating buildings, is the ‘fancy dress’ party. If you’re American or Canadian, then ‘fancy dress’ probably conjures images of black tie, tails and sherry (Downton Abbey anyone?). But no. ‘Fancy Dress’ is when otherwise regular people don ridiculous costumes and drink a lot (wait, that does sound like Downton Abbey). The reasons behind this custom (the dressing up, not the drinking) are unknown to me. Maybe it’s because there’s no Halloween and thus no annual outlet for looking like an idiot?
Anyway, the point is that this year, our departmental party’s theme was Noah’s Ark. Of course, this left us with only one option. If the world’s going to flood, then we’d better be sure there’s a pair of anoles on board. After all, think of the opportunity for radiation when the waters recede. All it took was a little duct tape, papier-mâché, paint, an artistic spouse and voila, Anolis masks! Of course, I can’t believe that I’m the only one who has ever attempted an anole costume – anyone else have any pics to share of their efforts?
Ok, who recognizes this one? And does it look it’s a member of any of the ecomorph categories? You make the call!