Anoles Adopting Funny Postures

John Rahn regaled us with tales of the Big Kahuna, his big backyard sagrei (a must read, if you don’t recall it). Here’s some more. First, he’s seen BK stand like this for quite a while. I have also seen anoles do the same. I wonder what’s up. Maybe they’re into yoga? A new pose–Sideways Lizard?

And here’s another photo. John writes: “I’ve noticed that when they catch/eat something, they rub their faces(?), or their catch on the concrete, like he’s doing here. What’s that all about?” Indeed, what is that all about? I’ve seen it, too. Are they using the ground as their own personal napkin? But then why do it to prey items, too? Thoughts?

Editor’s note: check out this video, referred to in the comment below by reader Beachton

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/1986146]

Anole Talks At The Ecological Society of America Meeting This Week

What can a kitty cam tell us about the secret lives of anoles? Photo from http://blogs.inlandsocal.com/pets/4501cat.jpg

The 97th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America begins Sunday in Portland. These meetings are truly enormous, and given the great amount of ecological research, past and present, on anoles, it’s surprising that there are not more anole talks scheduled. Nonetheless, there are three, and they look to be good ones. On Tuesday, Sean Giery will talk about studies on the ecosystem role of anoles in Miami. Basically, by examining stomach contents and measuring stable isotopes, he determined the extent to which terrestrial resources enter arboreal ecosystems. For A. equestris and A. distichus, the route is terrestrial insects walking up trees and being eaten, whereas for A. sagrei, it results from foraging on the ground. Also on Tuesday, Jason Kolbe talks on an experimental study of founder events in the Bahamas. We’ve already reported on this study, but Jason will be providing at least a few snippets of new data from this year’s field season. Finally, on Thursday, Kerrie Anne Lloyd will talk about a study looking at predation rates by domestic cats in Georgia, as determined by placing Kitty Cams on housecats. Turns out that a favorite prey item is, alas, green anoles.

Check out the abstracts for these talks below the fold, and if any AA readers attend the talks, please file a report.

Best Anole Documentary Ever

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xXPcYUnKRM

At least according to some. AA emailed the production team asking for the back story, but we still await a response.

And while we’re on the topic of anole flicks, here’s a video of an emaciated but alert and active female green anole slowing changing color.

Anoles (And Other Lizards) Featured In Temple Magazine

My brother just sent me the Spring 2012 issue of the Temple University magazine, a quarterly publication the university sends to alumni and donors.  The cover story features the biomechanics research of Dr. Tonia Hsieh and describes the various animal taxa her lab uses to ask questions about animal locomotion in challenging environments. This work, also featured in a January article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, has a wide variety of potential applications ranging from the development of nimble robots to suggestions for how to prevent slips and falls among the elderly.

The article and some accompanying online material are a quick, interesting read and contain some great images and videos.  Although other taxa get all the glamor shots, the article does describe how a lab colony of Anolis carolinensis is used study how animals recover and maintain their balance when navigating slippery surfaces.

 

Movie Review: Anoles, Spiders, And Superheroes

Spoiler Alert: I’m about to discuss the central plot of Spiderman. I assume most readers are by now familiar with the movie’s central conceit, namely that a noble scientist valiantly strives to create a race of super-lizards with extraordinary powers to benefit all of humanity, but tragically is stymied by the movie’s villian, a pajama-clad arachnophile with psychological baggage that produces an unreasonable antipathy to all things reptilian.

I won’t go into the particulars, but suffice to say that until its tragic denouement, the work is a herpetological marvel, as well as an inspiration to what may be accomplished by the miracles of genomics. Particularly impressive was the scene in which the oversized saurian regenerates its tail–quite graphically and accurately–in real time. Admittedly, the CGI lizards (of which I can’t find any photos online) were not quite up to par, but not a bad effort. Moreover, the best character in the movie is the chief scientist, Curt Connors, who immediately upon entrance introduces himself as the world’s foremost authority on herpetology and, as if to prove it, has an office replete with herpetological items (ok, two that I noticed: a stuffed turtle and a sea turtle skull).

Dr. Curt Connors, the world’s foremost herpetologist.

But, you may be thinking, a movie featuring lizards is great in all, but what’s the connection to anoles? Admittedly, there was no lizard or superhero in the movie who could be identified as anoline (incidentally, Time magazine has a nice discussion of what actual lizards may have been the basis for these creatures). However, and you may consider this a stretch, there was one link to the anole world: Connors, the scientist, was a dead ringer* for Jonathan Roughgarden (vintage 20 years ago), a resemblance enhanced by Collins’ obvious theoretical brilliance. Now, of course, it was disappointing when Connors transformed himself into a Komodo-sized saurian that bore no resemblance to Anolis gingivinus or any other Lesser Antillean anole, or even any anole at all, but perhaps we can save that for the sequel (Spiderman II: The Anole Strikes Back), when Connor triumphantly re-emerges to vanquish the spider-people and save humanity.

*by “dead ringer” I mean “bore a slight resemblance, at least in my mind’s eye”

Scary? Try adding a dewlap and toepads!

Rare Cuban Trunk Anole Spotted On Isla De Juventud

Photos from Cádiz and Birds report in IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians.

Trunk anoles are the least diverse and most enigmatic of the six replicated anole ecomorph categories (the others are grass-bush, trunk-ground, trunk-crown, twig, and crown giant). Numerous species of trunk anoles belonging to the distichus species group are a dominant component of Hispaniola’s anole fauna, but Cuba has only one very rare trunk anole species and Jamaica and Puerto Rico have no trunk anoles whatsoever.  In the latest IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians: Conservation and Natural History, Cádiz and Bird report the first occurrence of the Cuban trunk anole – A. loysianus – on Isla de Juventud.  This is the first time that this spectacular little anole species has been reported from Cuba’s largest satellite island.

Hatching for Hobbyists

Some previous posts on Anole Annals have stimulated excellent discussions regarding the care of Anolis eggs in a laboratory setting.  To this, I’d like to share a few tips as a hobbyist who has successfully incubated A. carolinensis eggs outside the laboratory for many years.

A month before breeding season, I place a small organic (fertilizer-free) potted basil plant in each cage.  This plant is watered weekly to keep the soil moist enough to prevent egg dessication without making the soil too heavy for easy digging.  Every few days, I comb through the soil with my fingers to check for eggs.

An A. carolinensis digging a hole to bury her egg

Anolis Carolinensis Lab Model Of The Month


ResearchBlogging.orgThe good folks at Lab Animalput out by the Nature Publishing Group, have named the green anole Miss June, er, I mean Model Animal of the Month in their June issue. If you’re not familiar with this periodical, it’s a “peer-reviewed journal publishing timely and informative editorial material emphasizing proper management and care. Lab Animal reaches over 10,000 professionals in both the academic world and applied research industries.” Obviously, quite a perceptive bunch, and the article, “The Ever Adaptable Anole,” is quite accurate and informative.

Anon. (2012). The ever-adaptable anole Lab Animal, 41 (6), 149-149 DOI: 10.1038/laban0612-149

More On Anoles And Day Geckos In Hawaii

Photo by Tony Gamble.

We at Anole Annals are a little obsessed with what’s going on between anoles and those anole-wannabees, the day geckos, in Hawaii. Really, someone’s gotta’ study this. Here’s a photo kindly provided by Tony Gamble demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt that the two species coexist. Here’s Tony’s take on whether the species interact:

Photo by Tony Gamble

“I didn’t see too many interactions between geckos and anoles. I would see large male anoles walk around and display in places loaded with day geckos. The geckos would certainly get out of the way of the brutish anoles but I did not observe anoles actually chasing or attacking geckos. Both species seem to be far more concerned with intraspecific interactions (attached photo on left shows a male Anolis eyeing the female on the other side of the fence). In some places they co-occurred at incredibly high densities (see photo below the fold) and given the abundance of roaches and spiders food does not seem like its a limiting factor. In Kona, which is fairly dry, anoles tend to be found only in areas that are irrigated (e.g. gardens, hotels, strip malls). Day geckos are more abundant in those places but can be found almost everywhere – even away from developed areas. It is possible interspecific interactions are different on more mesic parts of the big island and on other islands where more area is open to anoles. This is certainly an experiment in progress – we just need to find some time to observe it.”

Leal, Fleishman Labs In The Field

Follow their exploits as they rampage through the eastern Caribbean, measuring dewlap spectra and general wreaking havoc. Most recently, they’ve been to St. Croix to examine the enigmatic Anolis acutus, a refugee of the cristatellus clade that somehow made its way from Puerto Rico and now flourishes as the only anole on this island. Most amazingly, the density of this species is outrageously high, with many males peacefully coexisting on a single tree, like a bunch of hippies. Why do they do this? If anyone can figure this out, Manuel Leal, Leo Fleishman and company are just the ones. Stay tuned to Chipojo Lab for further updates.

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