Anole Annals

If you love anoles and have visited the Dominican Republic, chances are that you’ve spent some time on the Recodo Road. Initially made famous by Ernest Williams and his students, this road running north of Bani into the foothills of the Cordillera Central remains one of the most interesting anole hunting localities in the DR. My lab is particularly interested in the interactions between three types of trunk anoles in this region: Anolis brevirostris, A. distichus ignigularis, and A. distichus ravitergum (we’ve recently suggested that the latter two may deserve elevation to full species status and Luke covered this topic in a previous blog post). We’re currently using molecular genetic and ecological methods to investigate the possibility of ecological speciation among these forms.

I thought it would be fun to share some recent developments along this classic anole hunting locality. One feature of the Recodo Road that is both a blessing and a curse is the need to cross the Rio Baní. Because there are no bridges, crossing the river requires driving through the river itself. This generally isn’t a problem with a good 4×4, but getting stuck in the middle of the river is somewhat of a right of passage (the route can also be completely impassable after heavy rains). Shabby bridges made of sticks are often constructed for pedestrians and motorcycles, but these tend to be somewhat shaky and wash out each time the river floods. This winter, we found that some local entrepreneurs have constructed a somewhat more substantial stick bridge and have been charging a modest toll to motorcyclists interested in using it. The photo on the left of the image above depicts the toll collector and his modest gate. We were told that motorcycles were asked to donate what they could, rather than being charged a fixed rate. The photo on the right of the above image shows where we cross in our 4×4.

Anolis distichus Eating (Again)

By Rich Glor

On January 9, 2011

In Natural History Observations, Notes from the Field

I’ve posted twice previously with images of the Hispaniolan trunk anole (Anolis distichus) feeding on tiny insects, crickets, and beetles (1, 2). I took another such shot yesterday along the Recodo Road in the Dominican Republic, this time of A. distichus eating a bee. He spent the later part of this feeding episode scraping the wings off against the bark of the trunk.

Galapagos Finches and Antillean Anoles Compared, Plus Some Miscellany from Joan Roughgarden

By Joan Roughgarden

On January 8, 2011

In New Research

Many thanks to Luke, Melissa and everyone else involved in organizing this interesting and valuable blog. I have just learned about it, and am stimulated to offer some comments that seem extensive enough to merit a separate posting.

To begin, I discuss Jonathan Losos’ comparison of the Galapagos finch radiation with the Antillean anole radiation, as reported in his post of Dec. 19. In the book chapter he refers to, Jonathan offers a beautifully written summary of the biology of these radiations. On p. 325 he concludes that “Overall, adaptive radiation in Darwin’s finches and Greater Antillean anoles has occurred in very much the same way. Interspecific competition appears to have been the driving force leading to resource partitioning and subsequently adaptation to different niches, and speciation is probably primarily allopatric and may be promoted as an incidental consequence of adaptation to different environments. Differences exist as well, such as the extent of hybridization and of independent evolution on different islands; many of these differences probably result because the radiations differ in age and aspects of natural history.” While I tend to agree with this conclusion, I would develop a alternative list of differences and similarities between Galapagos finches and Caribbean anoles.

Anole Talks at the 2011 SICB Meeting

By Jonathan Losos

On January 8, 2011

In New Research

The just concluded SICB meeting in Salt Lake City featured 19 talks on anoles. You can see the titles and authors here, or go to here to check out the abstracts. Anyone who attended want to tell us about the meetings?

Measuring the Light on High

By Anthony J Geneva

On January 7, 2011

In Notes from the Field, Research Methods

Last summer the Glor lab began collecting light data to supplement ongoing research into the speciation of distichoid Anolis lizards. Following methods developed by Leo Fleishman and Manuel Leal, our aim was to measure light levels at the exact location where a lizard had displayed. Doing so involves holding a small sensor to the spot of the display and measuring the average light intensity for 15 seconds. That’s easy enough when the animal was 7 or 8 feet high, but most of our observations were substantially out of arms reach.

Necessity being the mother of invention (Plato, 360 B.C.), we rigged together our very own collapsible light meter pole using a broken panfish rod, utility cord and athletic tape. This rig, pictured at right, has served us well, including our current trip to the Dominican Republic (for updates on the the trip see the Glor Lab Page). It is our hope that by accurately measuring light at the site of displays we get a better handle on where males choose to display in their environment and how those sites differ between populations.

Norops’ last stand?

By Jonathan Losos

On January 7, 2011

In All Posts, Notes from the Field

In the mid-1980’s, Guyer and Savage proposed dividing Anolis into five genera. This proposal has mostly been rejected by the anole community, for reasons detailed in Poe (2004), Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree and the Wikipedia Norops page. The main reason is that although Guyer and Savage’s proposed genus Norops is monophyletic, all of the other proposed genera are not. Moreover, given the uncertainty that still exists about relationships at the base of the anole tree, sundering anoles into well-supported monophyletic subclades is still not possible. Finally, in Guyer and Savage’s initial paper, Anolis sensu lato was found to be monophyletic—so why bother? Even though we now know that Chamaeleolis, Chamaelinorops, and Phenacosaurus arose from within Anolis, it is much simpler to sink these genera into Anolis rather than to try to break anoles into umpteen different genera—many poorly supported.

Despite these points, and the general support for retention of an unsullied Anolis, support for Norops has one last redoubt, in Central America, and with particular strength in Costa Rica. There, the use of Norops is nearly ubiquitous, as evident in the Reptiles of Costa Rica flashcard pictured above (and for sale throughout the country).

Results of the Costa Rica cristatellus Expedition

By Jonathan Losos

On January 5, 2011

In Classics from the Literature, Notes from the Field

Map from http://www.costaricamapproject.com/InfoMaps/topographic.html

I’ve completed the brief survey of the distribution of A. cristatellus in Costa Rica (see previous post for explanation). The work was hampered by rainy and cool weather. Nonetheless, several new localities were identified. In particular, we found cristatellus in Bribri, very close to the Panamanian border. We actually went to the border town of Sixaolo, and even walked across the bridge, setting foot in Panama for a full 90 seconds (border officials apparently routinely allow tourists across the border to take a photo). However, by that time, the weather was very overcast and cool, and no lizards were out. Were I a betting man, I’d wager that cristatellus is already in the land of the canal.

Looking for the Puerto Rican A. cristatellus in Costa Rica

By Jonathan Losos

On January 2, 2011

In Notes from the Field

Anolis cristatellus in the front yard of a house in Turrialba.

I’ve just arrived in Limon, a port town on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, to track the spread of the introduced species A. cristatellus. Several realizations occurred to me as we wended our way down the mostly beautiful road from San Jose. First, I realized that not only have I seen cristatellus in its native range of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but I’ve also seen introduced populations in Miami and the Dominican Republic, as well as here. This species gets around!

Your Chance to Make a Million

By Jonathan Losos

On January 1, 2011

In Anoles in Commerce

I report from Quepos, near Manuel Antonio National Park, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Costa Rica. As you might imagine, the place is silly with vendors and shops selling all manner of trinkets and tchotkes: t-shirts, postcards, carvings, you name it. And befitting Costa Rica’s ecotourist slant, much of this merchandise has a wildlife theme. Red-eyed tree frogs, sea turtles, toucans, geckoniform lizards—I’m sick of them all. I’ve searched high and low, through every shop and stall, here and elsewhere, and there is not a single anole-themed product to be found. Imagine the money to be made: slender anole postcards, elegant painted carvings of A. biporcatus. I’m sure I’m not the only ecotourist here thirsting after a little anoline piece of Costa Rica to take home as a beloved keepsake. Herpetological entrepeneurs, get to it!

Information Sought on Anole Playing Dead Behavior

By Jonathan Losos

On December 30, 2010

In Ask the Experts

My name is John Phillips. I am an undergraduate in Kirsten Nicholson’s lab at Central Michigan. Kirsten and I were discussing some interesting behavior I observed by A. laeviventris and A. cupreus during our Nicaragua trip last summer. Multiple individuals upon capture appeared to ‘play dead’ until I stopped holding them securely, whence they suddenly sprang to life and escaped. Kirsten thought you may know of any related instances of such behavior in anoles, and she has encouraged me to write this observation up in Herp Review so I was wondering if anyone knew of related instances in other anoles. If so, could you email me at: phill1jg@cmich.edu?