Barnacle Historic State Park in Coconut Grove, Florida, where crested anoles have replaced brown anoles over the past 15 years.
Not long ago, I posted results from a return visit to a beloved South Miami site, the Doc Thomas House, that experienced a change in the dominant anole species following a change in canopy development. Another fine place that shares a then-and-now story is the Barnacle Historic State Park in Coconut Grove, also in south Florida. The first visit to the Barnacle was in 2005 when we conducted a herp bioblitz at this wonderful coastal park.
On 6 July 2007, anoles were counted and their perch heights recorded at the Barnacle. Anolis cristatellus was there and in the surrounding, area but it was greatly outnumbered by long-time resident, A. sagrei, at the park. In 2007, A. cristatellus occupied higher perch sites than A. sagrei. Alas, time was not kind to A. sagrei. A return visit to the site on 14 February 2020 revealed a very different arrangement of things. Anolis cristatellus was now everywhere and much more numerous than A. sagrei had been in 2007. Only one A. sagrei, and a possible hybrid, was seen in 2020, and the perch heights of A. cristatellus shifted in the opposite direction. The habitat historically had been open and so favorable to A. sagrei. Between 2005 and 2020, the hammock had remained well-canopied, and the side walls were well-shaded, to the liking of A. cristatellus. Thus, unlike at the Doc Thomas House, where canopy development facilitated colonization by A. cristatellus from surrounding area, the Barnacle habitat was predisposed to its colonization.
