Anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time catching anoles in the field has seen their fair share of injured animals. Many species we commonly study (e.g. brown anoles) are just the perfect size to be a snack for any hungry predator (and even humans! see this). Several previous posts have documented adult anoles that have sustained severe injuries (limb loss – see my previous post) and survived. But can these animals thrive with such injuries or do they just limp along through life?

Here I add to this string of anecdotes with a unique datum. This female Puerto Rican crested anole was caught by none other than James Stroud and Chris Thawley at Fairchild Botanical Gardens just this week. She is missing the rear right foot (not an unusual injury). What is new here is that I dissected this female as part of a study conducted by James, Chris, and myself, and I can report that this female, despite her handicap, is not only alive but seems to be thriving. Compared to a cohort of females captured at the same time and place (n= 13), she has greater body condition and fat mass than most of her cohort (Figure 1) and is reproductive at stage 4 (Gorman & Licht 1974). For those unfamiliar, stage 4 means that she has two developing eggs (1 in each oviduct). The mean stage for the cohort is 2.92, and, thus, her reproductive stage is more advanced than the majority of the cohort (only 2 of 13 individuals at stage 4).

Figure 1. Fat mass and residual body condition (log(mass) x log(SVL)) for the entire cohort (gray circles) and the injured female (black circle). There was no relationship between SVL and fat mass for females in this cohort so fat mass is not corrected for body size.

Cox and Calsbeek (2010) demonstrated that gravid anoles have reduced locomotor performance and lower survival than non-reproductive females. However, this female, despite the use of only 3 good limbs, has clearly been able to procure sufficient resources to  fuel reproduction and retain a level of fat reserves above most individuals in her population.  For this reason, we denote her ‘supermom’ and concede the possibility that missing a foot or limb may not severely reduce fitness for some individuals.

Cox, R.M. and Calsbeek, R., 2010. SEVERE COSTS OF REPRODUCTION PERSIST IN ANOLIS LIZARDS DESPITE THE EVOLUTION OF A SINGLE‐EGG CLUTCH. Evolution, 64(5), pp.1321-1330.

Gorman, G.C. and Licht, P., 1974. Seasonality in ovarian cycles among tropical Anolis lizards. Ecology, 55(2), pp.360-369.

 

Joshua Hall
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