Category: All Posts Page 48 of 148

Blog for Anole Annals at Evolution 2018!

With Evolution 2018 kicking off this Saturday in Montpellier, we are putting out a last minute call for bloggers to help us cover the 9 anole talks/posters! Will you be attending? Want to contribute to the blog? Send me a message at kmwinchell@wustl.edu! We are happy to have you join the team whether or not you have blogged for us before!

For those of you following along at home, here’s a sneak peek of the action:

Kicking off the anole posters during the first poster session on Sunday will be Winter Beckles (“Habitat partitioning and signal divergence among non-native bark anoles in South Florida”), Colin Donihue (“How does an adaptive radiation begin? Contingency and determinism in Anolis sagrei ecological specialization”), and Timothy Thurman (“Phenotypic change in response to introduced predators and competitors: a field experiment with Anolis lizards”).

Monday starts off bright and early with a talk by Guin Wogan (“Replicated landscape level epigenomics and genomics of two Greater Antillean trunk-ground Anolis lizards”), followed by an afternoon talk by Carlos Infante (“Regulatory evolution, development, and convergence among Anolis lizards”). There is also a talk slated for Monday afternoon by Tony Gamble on “Sex chromosome evolution in lizards and snakes,” which I hear may feature some anoles, but will focus more generally on squamates.

All the rest of the anole action happens on Tuesday, starting with a talk by Shane Campbell-Staton (“Selection on thermal plasticity facilitates adaptation of city lizards to urban heat islands”), and ending with 3 posters during the evening poster session by Claire Dufour (“Evolution of the agonistic behavior as a first response to the recent interspecific competition between the invasive species –Anolis cristatellus– and the native–Anolis oculatus– in Dominica”), Kristin Winchell (“Urban Evolution Mid-Stride: Morphology and Performance of Urban Lizards”), and Yann Bourgeois (“Population genomics of green anole (Anolis carolinensis) reveals evolutionary forces shaping diversity in a reptile”).

Check back during the meeting as we rev up our blogging machine to cover all of this exciting new research! Also, make sure to follow along on Twitter by following Anole Annals (@AnoleAnnals) and the Evolution 2018 hashtag (#Evol2018)!

Ants Carry a Dead Lizard Up a Wall and Back Down

David Polly, vertebrate paleontologist extraordinaire, keeps an eye out for living organisms as well, but turns out his specialty really is the dead ones. Here’s the story: “Ironically I was trying to photograph a live anole on the University of Florida campus [in Gainesville] who was annoyingly reclusive while trying to avoid a swarm of ants. The Anolis escaped so I turned attention to the ants, who turned out to be engaged in Anolis reanimation.”

The Effect of Recent Competition between the Native Anolis oculatus and the Invasive A. cristatellus on Display Behavior: the Cartoon !

Check the new episode of the series “Chris & Z’Andy, the 2 anoles in Dominica ” published in PeerJ (Dufour, Herrel & Losos 2018)!

See also episode 1

Discovery of New Dimorphic Anolis/Chamaeleolis from Cuba

Recently, colleagues and I from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic published a paper (Holáňová Zahradníčková et al. 2018) in Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae announcing the discovery of a new dimorphic Anolis population/species from Cuba.

Finding “Chamaeleolis” at their typical habitat at Gran Piedra, Cuba.

During my last trip to Cuba in 2012, I had the luck to find a male of unusual Anolis (“chamaeleolis group“) at Gran Piedra mountain, Santiago de Cuba province. At first glimpse, I knew it is something new—it had a red dewlap! All of to the “Chamaeleolis“ described thus far didn’t have that. By distribution region, it had to be Anolis porcus, but it looked different. Some time later, by coincidence I received some Cuban anoles with locality from Russian private breeders and what a surprise: there were false chameleons with red dewlaps! So, we could start our research on these unique animals.

Can you see it? Photo by Veronika Zahradníčková

In comparison with other species of the “chamaeleolis group,“ animals from this population display surprising dichromatism in dewlaps. Males have shiny red dewlaps, while females have whitish dewlaps.

Lateral view of heads and dewlaps in males and females of five examined Anolis species/populations of the “chamaeleolis” group

We compared this “new anole“ with other Anolis species of the “chamaeleolis group“ (A. barbatus, A. chamaeleonides,  A. guamuhaya and A. porcus) through morphology, mtDNA, visual modelling and spectrophotometry. Our results showed expected distinctness of this dichromatic population.

Amazing dorsal crest of Anolis sp. male. Photo by Veronika Zahradníčková

Veronika Zahradníčková with adult male of Anolis sp. at Gran Piedra, Cuba

Why did we not describe it? In the original description of A. porcus Cope, 1864 there is no information about dewlap coloration nor about the exact type locality. We would need to compare our material with the A. porcus holotype (ANSP 8133 in Philadelphia). We wanted to avoid taxonomic discussions concerning species identity of these specimens until a thorough revision of A. porcus sensu lato including properly localized materials can be completed. We would prefer to cooperate with Cuban herpetologists in this.

And so now it is waiting for description and scientific name. Who will be the first?

Anolis Newsletter VII: Submission Deadline Extended To 31st August 2018

It has come to our attention that today’s deadline for submissions to the Anolis Newsletter VII is landing squarely during many contributor’s field research and conference seasons, and so we have taken the decision to extend the submission deadline by 1 month.

The new deadline will be: 31st August 2018.

We hope those of you there were unable to meet today’s deadline are now able to put together a submission in time for the next! This is lining up to be the best newsletter yet. Contributions to the newsletter can take many forms, for example:

– Overviews of research programs and labs
– Discussion of new projects or ideas
– Summaries of work in progress

– Manuscript-like reports.

More than anything, this is an opportunity to let the anole community know what you’re up to. At the same time, this is not something to stress over. These are newsletter reports, informal non-publications. Don’t sweat the details! And for those of you who presented at the symposium, it’s just a matter of writing down what you said!

You can find all of the formatting details for newsletter submissions here:

https://www.anoleannals.org/2018/04/25/anolis-newsletter-vii-a-call-for-contributions/

And please send all submissions directly to:

anolis2018@gmail.com

Best wishes

The AN VII Editorial Team

2018 Anolis Symposium team photo in Miami FL!

 

Where Do Green Anoles in the Pet Trade Come From?

AA reader Diane Hickey Davis asks: Are there any differences, genetic or otherwise, between the Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) found wild in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida panhandle, Tampa region, and those sold by Carolina Biological supply or PetSmart?

Submissions Are Open For Anolis Newsletter VII!

Dear anolologists,

The 31st July deadline for submissions to the Anolis newsletter is fast approaching, and we want to remind everyone that this is an open submission for all contributions!

See this previous post for all information you need on the type of contributions we are looking for!

We particularly encourage all of those anolologists who presented research at the 2018 Anolis Symposium to contribute brief synopses of their talks or posters.

Best wishes

The AN Editorial Team

Submit contributions to: anolis2018@gmail.com

Formatting instructions: http://www.jameststroud.com/uploads/2/6/1/3/26134722/anvii_formatting_instructions.pdf

Orlando Garrido: Anolis Biologist Extraordinaire

From the Herping in Cuba Facebook page (with permission).

From Trash to Art: Anole Conservation Through Community Engagement

 

(Top) A recycle themed community workshop resulted in this amazing anole artwork, designed to spur the recognition and conservation of Utila’s endemic Bica Anole – Anolis (Norops) bicaorum (photographed bottom).

Community engagement and local acknowledgment of important species is essential for effective conservation. On Utila Island, researchers at Kanahau Utila Research & Conservation Facility have been working hard to not only research and document populations of the endemic Anolis (Norops) bicaorum, but also increase community awareness and recognition towards this local lizards conservation plight.

An excellent example and interactive method found to raise awareness is through the creation of art!

Prior to a community based ‘recycle themed’ workshop held on Utila Island, Honduras, staff and volunteers at Kanahau (and other collaborators- Utila Beach Clean-Up Whale Shark & Oceanic Research Center (WSORC), the Bay Islands Conservation Association (BICA) and Utila Handmade Co-Op) performed beach cleans with the intention of sourcing suitable washed up plastic materials (i.e. bottle caps, polystyrene, etc), from which to re-purpose and use in our conservation-themed art!

With the kind inspiration, help and guidance of abstract artist Yioula Koutsoubou, we created some conservation-themed murals from the collected plastic materials, inviting children from the local schools to be involved. The event was held and artwork assembled throughout the day at the public park (a prominent location in Utila town), and so many people stopped to watch the artwork progress and ask questions. Overall, it was fantastic to see collaboration between the island NGO’s, as well as children,  locals, tourists (people of many ages) attending, all being involved, helping and importantly learning about the conservation issues surrounding Utila’s biodiversity.  In addition to the Anole art, a Sea Turtle mural was also created; which is currently positioned for all to see above a small recycle area in town (promoting the importance of limiting disposable plastics/sorting and recycling domestic waste). The Anole Artwork now hangs ‘pride of place’ on the front of the Kanahau Facility (located adjacent to Pumpkin Hill – the site observed with the highest anole abundance). Here (visible to all who pass by on their scenic route up the hill) it serves to honor the populations of Utila’s endemic anoles, whilst spreading appreciation and recognition for the species!

Why make Anole art on Utila? – Preliminary observations and research from the Kanahau facility (funded by MBZ) suggest that populations of Utila’s endemic anoles are substantially threatened owing to the unsustainable expansion and development of agriculture, infrastructure and the tourism industry (see N . bicaorum – Brown et al. 2017;  and Nutilensis – Brown et al. 2017). The greatest threat to these species is considered the loss of their primary hardwood forest habitats, of which less and less sadly remains. Environmental education and engagement of the local community with key issues (such as biodiversity decline and the importance of protecting island resources/habitats) is considered essential for successful conservation of these anoles.

* Many thanks to Yioula Koutsoubou, Andrea Albergoni, Daisy Maryon and the many others who assisted with the event that day!  A big thanks to all the islands NGOs and workshop collaborators (Kanahau, WSORC, BICA, Utila Beach Clean & Utila Handmade Co-Op ) for organizing and supporting the event!

Are Anoles Less Abundant in North Carolina after Last Year’s Cold Winter?

Anolis carolinensis from North Carolina. Photo by Graham Reynolds.

In response to a previous post on North Carolina anoles, AA reader John Philips asks:

Anyone notice a significant reduction in the population of anoles in SE NC? I live on Bradley Creek in Wilmington, NC and I have noticed very few this year. Used to see 3-5 per day sitting on various surfaces in the sun while walking my dogs, especially because my shihpoo is always “hunting” them. However, this year I probably only see 1 per week.

I assume this could be due to the cold winter? Any other predators that might have reduced the population? We have seen an increase in brown thrashers in the area and thought since they forage on the ground they might be a predator?

Page 48 of 148

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén