Notes from the Field – Page 18

Unique dewlap?

On July 12, 2011

In All Posts, Natural History Observations, Notes from the Field

I recently returned from a trip to eastern Cuba and as expected, made some interesting observations and gathered some new natural history information.
While poking around one evening with a flashlight (mainly looking for Eluth’s) I saw this “orange” sagrei sleeping on some veg. I photographed it to share here since there was some discussion on and off blog about this color phase. After I got it in hand to determine species (since homolechis and jubar were also very common in the area), I was surprised at the dewlap appearance. At first I thought it had a red mite infection because of the color and texture; but after scrutiny, just accepted that it had a bright red pigment that was scattered about the entire ventral anterior. Any ideas or similar observation?

Sagrei – Cristatellus Interactions in Miami

By Jonathan Losos

On July 1, 2011

In Introduced Anoles, Notes from the Field

Anolis cristatellus in Miami. Photo by Melissa Losos

In his spare time, photographer and film-maker extraordinaire Neil Losin doubles as a graduate student studying the ecological interactions between introduced trunk-ground anoles A. sagrei and A. cristatellus in Miami. He’s just begun his third field season, and you can read all about it here.

Leal and Fleishman to the Caribbean: Lizards, Watch Out

By Jonathan Losos

On June 26, 2011

In Notes from the Field

Photo probably by Manuel Leal probably at El Verde Field Station in Puerto Rico.

Read about it here

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Strange perch mate

By Joe Burgess

On June 16, 2011

In New Research, Notes from the Field

Anoles in Florida really have to deal with some strange neighbors. You just never know who is going to move in next door. Giant day geckos are rapidly expanding their range in the Fla Keys and use a variety of perch sites and heights including manmade structures. This of course brings them in contact with all species of Anolis occurring there. I enjoyed watching this interaction… The A.carolinensis/porcatus was really troubled with the invader, using the entire repertoire of his display skills. The gecko (Phelsuma grandis) which was at least three times the mass of the anole, only seemed slightly hesitant to continue to the crown of the tree. Once there the anole displayed for several minutes trying to influence the gecko out of his small palm. Perhaps one day they will learn each others language.

Anole on Anole Violence

By Rich Glor

On June 15, 2011

In Natural History Observations, Notes from the Field

Down the hatch. Anolis cybotes eats A. marron. Photo by Luke Mahler.

A few years back I was asked to give a talk to some undergraduate marine biology students studying at the Discovery Bay Marine Lab in Jamaica. I brought a live Jamaican giant anole (A. garmani) to this presentation, and told the students that this species eats just about any other animals it can fit in its mouth – including other anoles. One of the students seemed shocked by this revelation and suggested that “they only eat other anoles in emergencies, right?” This necessitated a little lecture on nature red in tooth and claw that seemed to leave some of the students on the verge of tears. (Presumably readers of this blog already know that whatever concerns organisms might have about inclusive fitness do not extend to the intra-generic level.)

Although anole on anole predation is a well-known phenomenon, most reports involve adults feeding on much smaller juveniles. In the latest issue of Herpetological Review, Luke Mahler and I report an exception to this generality involving predation by an adult male Anolis cybotes on an adult female Anolis marron. With a prey SVL ~60% as large as the predator’s (70mm for the predator v. 45mm for the prey) this observation ranks as the highest predator:prey ratio ever reported for anoles. Given that the A. cybotes failed to fully ingest its prey during the 8+ hours we held it captive, we speculate that this event was at, or perhaps even above, this individual’s prey size limit.

A Primer on Filming Anole Behavior – Part 1

By Justin Henningsen

On June 8, 2011

In Notes from the Field, Research Methods

A field assistant, Sarah, films anole behavior in semi-natural enclosures

I’m in the midst of my fourth summer of field work, and over the course of this time, I have spent many hours filming male Anolis carolinensis. I’ve done this work under several conditions; one project involved filming known animals in the field, a second required filming staged encounters between males in the lab, and the final (and current) project has me filming animals in semi-natural enclosures. These experiences prompted me to create this post, which I hope will be useful to anole researchers and enthusiasts who are embarking on projects that involve capturing video of lizards doing the things that fascinate us. Today, I’ll begin with a discussion of cameras and in a later post, I will write about other equipment as well as some of the techniques I’ve employed to capture useful images.

The Camera

The most important piece of equipment.

Where to stay on your Anolis expedition?

By Alex Gunderson

On June 7, 2011

In Notes from the Field

Many anologists spend a lot of time travelling far and wide to work with our little lizard friends. I think this is one of the great perks of studying anoles, but it presents a host of logistical problems, one of which is finding convenient, affordable lodging in the myriad places you might go. Unfortunately, there are no centralized places to find information on where to stay, but I thought this blog would be a good place to start.

Lizard Noosing Material Update

By Jonathan Losos

On June 2, 2011

In Notes from the Field, Research Methods

Equaline? CVS? 'Fraid not.

A few months back, we had a lively discussion of the best material to use to make a lizard noose.

I and others went old school and advocated dental floss as the lariat of choice. In this vein, I have an update. Now in the field in the Bahamas, Jason Kolbe and I have been using two newish brands of the waxy stuff, and neither of us has a good thing to say. I have been using a new type, “Just the Basics,” which seems to be a CVS store brand. All I can say is: Avoid!!! By “basics,” they mean “basically terrible.” It frays very quickly, so that by the time you’ve snagged your third lizard, you have to make another noose. Very annoying. Meanwhile, Jason has been using a floss produced by Equaline. He gives it two thumbs down, claiming that it disintegrates—believe it or not—after a single lizard capture.

First Post by an Aspiring Anologist

By Travis Ingram

On June 1, 2011

In Notes from the Field

I’m writing this en route back to Vancouver, after getting my first taste of anole fieldwork in the Bahamas the last few weeks. This summer I’ll be finishing my PhD thesis at UBC on the evolution of food web structure in marine and freshwater fish (see here for my previous research). For my post-doc, I’ll be working with Jonathan Losos at Harvard, asking some related questions using anoles as a study organism.

To get to know the system, I’ve been working with Jonathan, Rob Pringle, and others, helping to set up a terrific experiment around Staniel Cay in the Exumas (see Jonathan’s post for details). It’s been my first foray into anole ecology, and really to terrestrial ecology in any habitat. It was slow going at first, but I learned a few food web sampling techniques, and rapidly improved my ability to spot anoles in the vegetation on small islands. I spent most days helping to spray paint Anolis sagrei to estimate population sizes on the islands.

How the Presence of Curly Tailed Lizards Affects Brown Anole Behavior

By Jonathan Losos

On May 30, 2011

In Notes from the Field

Over at Chipojolab, the Chipojo Bobo himself and his merry band of ethologists are providing regular updates on their research on the behavior of brown anoles, and how it is affected by the presence of predatory curly-tailed lizards. Check it out, and follow the exploits of Nolan, the conch-shell inhabiting bull sagrei.

p.s. In Cuba, the locals refer to crown giant anoles, members of the A. equestris group as “chipojos.” False chameleons, Chamaeleolis, are called “chipojo bobos,” meaning, more-or-less, clumsy crown giant anoles.

Category: Notes from the Field Page 18 of 22