Anole Annals

Anolis – Now in 3D!

On November 18, 2011

Jumping on the 3D bandwagon that has infested Hollywood, I wanted to introduce the Anole Annals community to the newest tool being employed to study Anole diversity and evolution, High Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography, or CT scanning for short.

HRXCT is a tool that uses x-rays to visualize the internal geometries of opaque objects. It is similar to the CAT scan you would get at a hospital, but with high-power x-rays so higher resolution. It is perfect for museum specimens because it is non-destructive; you can study skeletal morphology without removing skin or flesh, unlike the skeletonizing or clearing and staining methods as previously described here. In this first blog post on HRXCT of anoles, I shall explain how the scan process works and how the data are collected.

Evolution of a Lizard Room, Part V: The Shopvac

By Rich Glor

On November 18, 2011

In Research Methods

Using a Shopvac can really speed-up cleaning dirty cricket cages (left) and also help knock-down spider populations (right).

As we’ve discussed previously in our series on the evolution of a lizard room, some little tools and tricks can save you lots of time when maintaining a reasonably large lizard breeding facility. One useful new tool that we added to our lizard maintenance repertoire a few months ago was a Shopvac. We purchased a 3-gallon Shopvac model for around $60 with the initial goal of using it primarily for clearing substrate from the bottom of dirty lizard and cricket cages. The Shopvac works like a charm for this purpose. We no longer have to endure awkward and time-consuming cleaning sessions that involve tipping unwieldy cages into a garbage bin. Another unforeseen use of the Shopvac is to knock-down the massive population of spiders that persists on a diet of our feeder crickets. Sucking up spiders, spider webs and spider eggs is much easier than trying to knock them down with your hands or a broom (at the end of the process you also get the satisfaction of looking into the Shopvac’s dustbin and seeing all the hundreds of spiders and spider egg cases that you’ve taken down). In my view, the money we spent on the Shopvac was money well spent.

Marking Techniques for Population Studies

By Yoel Stuart

On November 17, 2011

In Research Methods

A grass bush anole, Anolis olssoni, from the Dominican Republic. Note the three colored beads sewed into the tail musculature for easy identification in the field. Photo by Michele Johnson.

Many studies of natural selection, behavioral ecology, and population biology in anoles focus on one to several populations over the course of days, weeks, or months. These studies require reliable identification of individual lizards over time. I describe several ID’ing methods in this post. Read on!

Anolis Flickr Pool – Anolis Decorus

By Anthony J Geneva

On November 17, 2011

In Anole Art, Literature, and Humor

the altercation by Flickr user Dixie Native

I recently stumbled across a Flickr pool dedicated to beautiful images of anoles – Anolis Decorus. From the pool’s description:

Photographs of anole lizards. This group is open to all, but a very high standard will be maintained so please submit only your best photographs. No photographs of dead or dying lizards please. The emphasis of the photograph should be on the lizard (ergo: please post photographs of Anole lizards, not photographs with lizards in them).

Some AA bloggers (and I assume readers) have contributed images. The pool includes a diverse array of Anolis species and includes some stunning photography. The picture above is yet another example of carolinensis/sagrei encounters like that posted previously here. Overall there are some really high quality images, check them out.

Digital Images of Old Anolis Prints Available

By Jonathan Losos

On November 16, 2011

In Anole Art, Literature, and Humor

And here’ s more information on these classic prints. The webpage of the NYPL Digital Gallery proclaims that it “is The New York Public Library’s image database, developed to provide free and open online access to hundreds of thousands of images from the original and rare holdings of The Library. Spanning a wide range of historical eras, geography, and visual media, NYPL Digital Gallery offers digital images of drawings, illuminated manuscripts, maps, photographs, posters, prints, rare illustrated books, and more. Encompassing the subject strengths of the vast collections of The Library, these materials represent the applied sciences, fine and decorative arts, history, performing arts, and social sciences.”

Most importantly, of course, these holdings include classic paintings of anoles, including those by Catesby and others. For example, searching using the term “Anolis” yields 12 paintings, including those of A. carolinensis, A. cuvieri, A. sagrei and others. Be forewarned that they are categorized by the name used in their original source. Holbrook’s drawings from North American Herpetology were just added (thanks to CNAH for bringing this to AA’s attention), but our beloved North American green is categorized as Anolius carolinensis.

And for those of you who’ve already begun your holiday shopping, prints of these images are available at a reasonable cost.

Get Your Own Copy of a Classic Anole Illustration

By Rich Glor

On November 16, 2011

In All Posts

When its not trying to kill off distinguished herpetologists, the Center for North American Herpetology’s (CNAH‘s) mailing list is a great way to keep abreast of all kinds of herp related news. Today, the CNAH’s list called attention to the fact that the New York Public Library is selling reproductions of classic prints from Holbrook‘s North American Herpetology. Included among Holbrook’s plates is a rendering of Anolius Carolinensis that would look excellent on any good anolologist’s wall! The prints being offered by the NY Public Library appear to be from the second edition published in 1842. I’m not sure if the same print appeared in the first edition, or even which volume the anole was originally in; Holbrook famously recalled and burned many copies of the first edition in a bonfire at his house due to problems with the plates and with the organization of species accounts. It looks like an 8 x 10″ Anolius Carolinensis print will set you back around $35. Alternatively, you could get a facsimile of the whole edition for $70 from the SSAR!

Amazing Research Opportunity for Young Anole Aficionados

By Rich Glor

On November 15, 2011

In Anoles and Anolologists in the News, Education and Anoles

Anolis smaragdinus is one of the species that participants in Bob Powell's REU program are likely to encounter on their trip to Eleuthera this Summer. Photo by Jonathan Losos

Are you an undergraduate student with dreams of traveling to the Caribbean to study lizards? If so, your dream could be realized through the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program organized by Bob Powell at Avila University. Now in its 10th iteration, Bob’s program has provided nearly 100 students with opportunities to conduct research in places like the Dominican Republic, Anguilla, Grenada, St. Eustatius, St. Vincent, Dominica and the Grenadines. I can tell you from personal experience – I was a participant in 1995 – that Bob’s program is among the best of its kind. Students in Bob’s REU get a complete research experience, from personal instruction on how to find and read the primary literature to supervised preparation of research for publication. Just about everyone who participates in Bob’s program comes out with one or more publications. This summer’s REU will involve field work on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera, which is home to four species of anoles! Applications are due by February 15th.

Anoles in the New York Times

By Jonathan Losos

On November 14, 2011

In Anoles and Anolologists in the News

Caption: "Flora and fauna abound."

The Travel section of the NYT recently featured Caribbean getaways and, of course, anoles were a criteria for choosing which destinations to feature. This isn’t a tough one, but can anyone identify this agave-loving anole?

More on Anoles Playing Dead, and a Lizard That Loves Watermelon

By Jonathan Losos

On November 13, 2011

In Natural History Observations

In response to recent discussion of dead-playing anoles, AA‘s French connection Ludovic recently brought to our attention a video of an A. coelestinus doing the same, while floating in a sink.

And as an extra treat, Youtube then directed the alert viewer to a bonus track of what appears to be a fuzzy A. stratulus going to town on a slice of watermelon.

Evolution of a Lizard Room, Part IV: Crickets

By Julienne Ng

On November 12, 2011

In Research Methods

Left: Tubs used to house crickets. Right: The set up inside a cricket tub.

To continue our series on lab anole husbandry, let’s talk food! We feed our room full of hungry anoles Acheta crickets ordered from Fluker Farms. We house crickets in 21-gallon plastic tubs (bought from places like Target or Home Depot) that have been modified for ventilation – we cut holes in the lids and glue wire screen on top. We provide egg layer mash for food, water crystals (usually used for plants) on a small deli cup lid for water, and egg crates to give them places to hide.