Anole Annals

Anole Annals readers no doubt recall All-America Park, where so many anole species cavort in South Miami. Turns out the city is “cleaning it up” which spells no good for our favorite lizards. Local A-A Park resident Christopher Cooke writes:

“I live next door to All America Park in South Miami (6820 SW 64th. Avenue), a formerly well known habitat for lizards – I’ve met people from everywhere who have come to study the lizards here. I’m battling the City which is “sanitizing” the park and I’m looking for any information or references (past or present) in lizard literature which highlights the importance of this property as a wildlife environment. My goal is to stop the “sanitizing” l and replant habitat material so as to restore a conducive environment for lizards and other wildlife. Any help you can offer will be much appreciated. Christopher Cooke, neighbor of Neil Losin – for those who know him.”

Please make comments on anything that may be useful. Good luck, Christopher!

And while on the topic, here’s a lovely photo by South Miami mayor and neuroethologist extraordinaire Phil Stoddard, taken near the park.

Anolis cristatellus snoozing on a dragonfruit. Photo by Philip Stoddard

Green Anole Eating a Bee

By Jonathan Losos

On October 21, 2019

In All Posts

Photo by Dee Jacobsen

Dee Jacobsen from southeastern Louisiana sent in these lovely photos. Here’s what went down:
“I came across your site and wondered if you would be interested in see this photo I took in southeast Louisiana of an anole eating and being stung in the tongue by a bee. I was sitting on my porch and this little guy came running toward me to grab that bee by my foot. Scurried off with it and I grabbed the camera. We have so many anoles here that I take lots of shots of them but this one was most unique.”

Thirsty Anoles Jumping to Foliage after Water Spraying

By Jonathan Losos

On October 19, 2019

In All Posts

Charles Leeper from San Antonio writes:
There appears to be a high population of green anoles on our property. While watering some plants, I sometimes spray a large patch of common ivy. What I’ve noticed is green anoles leaping from the above tree limbs onto the ivy leaves in order to drink the water I’ve just sprayed on them. At first, I heard thuds on the ivy and didn’t know what it was, but then I started watching the tree limbs and saw anoles climbing to the edge and leaping off – probably from a height of ten feet. I only notice them jumping from the trees after I’ve watered. I imagine this is typical behavior after a rain, and my water-spraying replicates such an event? I’m sure this is well-documented behavior, but in the case that it isn’t or is unique to a ground covered in a soft landing pad like ivy, I thought I would share it.
Nonetheless, I enjoy observing them and wanted to let you know there is a solid population here!
Charles kindly agreed to take video of some of the action. Thanks, Charles! And here’s his commentary on th videos (two more below):
I captured some footage of the anoles leaping off the trees. The first two videos (the one at the top of the page and the second one below) document them jumping from a branch of only about 4 to 5 feet, and the third one (the first one below) is from a height of perhaps 9 feet (it’s a bit tough to see, but this one shows a very young anole on the center branch – what a dive it takes!). I have seen many more than this (and from heights of probably 15 to maybe 20 feet), but only managed to record these occurrences.
I have not observed them much while it’s raining (a rarity down here in the summer!), but I would imagine they don’t partake in this jumping during or following a rain because either they don’t have to drink from the ivy as the raindrops hit the trees, or they’re already on the ground and not perched/basking in the trees during a storm.
The following is just conjecture, but possibly they smell, hear, or see the water hitting the ivy, and it’s not sprinkling the trees, so they’re drawn down for a drink. As for why they leap off as opposed to crawling down the tree, which does sometimes happen, perhaps they’ve learned the ivy is a soft landing pad and it’s just less energy-intensive to jump, or they’re avoiding bigger green anoles that may be near the base or brown anoles. Although, I’m not sure there are many brown anoles here as I don’t think I have seen them, but I certainly could be wrong.

And here’s a lizard drinking post-spraying:

Looking for Photos of Pholidoscelis

By Jonathan Losos

On October 17, 2019

In All Posts

Bob Powell (anolis@swbell.net) writes:

I’m working on a CAAR account of Pholidoscelis (including all species) and still need photographs of a few species. Since the islands where they’re found are also inhabited by anoles, I’m hoping you might be able to connect me with some folks who have been to the relevant islands and who might have photos of the ameivas that I could use in the account. The species I am missing are listed below.

Thanks for any help you can provide. Cheers, Bob

Pholidoscelis desechensis (Isla Desecheo)

Pholidoscelis pluvianotatus (Montserrat)

Discuss with Robots

By Claire Dufour

On October 15, 2019

In All Posts

Communication is a prerequisite of human society. But when you look, smell and hear around, you rapidly realize that we are not the only ones to communicate. Indeed, plants, fungus, animals and other living things such as bacteria show extraordinary ways to “talk” to each other.

The diversity of animal signals (e.g. visual, acoustic, chemical) and their evolution has particularly fascinated biologists for decades. Etymologically, the term “communication” implies to share information between a signaler and a receiver, but the interplay between the two remains extremely challenging to study, especially in animals in their natural environment.

The use of robots in ecology is in its infancy, but promises great advances in the study of animal communication. Lizards are not outdone with this robotic revolution (see previous AA posts and several others should be forthcoming!). The use of lizard robots allows researchers to control the signal stimulus directly in the field and to address questions related to species recognition, mate choice and evolution of aggressiveness, for instance.

In a recent paper, Dave Clark and collaborators went further by designing an interactive lizard robot! Yes, the study is about Galapagos lava lizards, but it deserves great attention in the Anole Annals community as understanding the processes underlying lizard communication is of pressing interest in anole research and the interactive robot may help to understand its evolution. The authors presented a bio-mimetic conspecific robot and tested whether an immediate or a postponed 30s response of the robot to the subject’s display influenced the display latency and duration of the focal individual. They found that immediate display response by the robot to a subject’s bobbing display stimulated the focal lizard to display more rapidly and more often than when the robot’s response was delayed. These results suggest that subjects perceived a rapid response from their robotic contestant as being more aggressive than a delayed response.

This study is the first interactive robot playback experiment with lizards in natural conditions and it demonstrates that the response ‘timing of the receiver is a crucial factor of lizard communication.

Reference:

Clark, D.L., Macedonia, J.M., Rowe, J.W., Austin, M.R, Centurione, I.M, Valle, C.A. (2019). Galápagos lava lizards (Microlophus bivittatus) respond dynamically to displays from interactive conspecific robots. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 73: 136. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-019-2732-6

Anolis cusuco as Prey of a Praying Mantis

By Tom Brown

On October 13, 2019

In All Posts, Anole Photographs, Natural History Observations, New Research, Notes from the Field

Predation event between a Praying Mantis (Mantodea: sp.) and a sub-adult female of Anolis cusuco. Photo Credit – George Lonsdale

A natural history note published September 2019 in the journal SAURIA details an unusual observation of anolivory by a Praying Mantis. Specifically, it discusses an event involving the predation of a sub-adult female Anolis (Norops) cusuco.

Anolis cusuco owes its name to its type locality in the cloud-forest of Cusuco National Park, Honduras, and is a species endemic to the country. Few publications exist regarding the natural history of this species and much regarding its ecology, including its potential predators, remain unknown. While a small contribution, this observation describes the first, albeit somewhat unsuspecting predator for Anolis cusuco.

Seeking Support for New Research Investigating Color Change in Green Anoles

By Victoria Pagano

On October 11, 2019

In All Posts, New Research, Research Methods

Victoria Pagano’s page from the crowd-funding platform Experiment

Green anoles (Anolis carolinensis) are talked about quite frequently here on Anole Annals, with 11 articles being published in 2018 and 2019 combined! As I am sure many of you are aware, green anoles change color from green to brown, and while it is known how, it is not yet known why. Although there have been multiple field studies into what causes green anoles to change color, the data have been inconclusive. This is why an experimental study is necessary to try to determine the cause of the color change.

In this experimental study, there will be two main hypotheses tested:

The first is the well known thermoregulation hypothesis. I will be testing this by establishing separate light and heat sources, and turning them on and off for different scenarios. If anoles change color for thermoregulation, then they would turn brown more frequently when the heat is off and the light is on.

The second hypothesis is the effect of increased stress. Stress will be induced by sliding a red disk towards the anoles multiple times at a high speed. Any color change that occurs within the red disk moving and the following 10 minutes will be documented as stress-induced.

I will not be able to test the advertisement signaling hypothesis due to feasibility. Because funding and space is limited, I do not have the capacity to house male anoles, as each one needs his own setup. Therefore, testing only females is the only feasible option, and by doing so, the advertisement signaling hypothesis will not be able to be tested, as this hypothesis pertains mainly to males.

To raise funding for this project, I am using an all or nothing crowdfunding platform called Experiment. As fellow anole lovers, I hope that you can help support my scientific endeavors by visiting my project page. All forms of support are greatly appreciated, from donations, to telling your friends about the project, or even by just reading my project page and commenting your thoughts! Whatever the contribution, I am very grateful, and am simply excited to be able to share what I am doing with all of you!

If you wish to learn more about this project, you can visit the project page, “What drives the color change in green anoles?”, where I have posted my methodology, protocols, and will be posting continuous updates on the progression of the project. If you become a contributor, you will have exclusive access to more updates, and will be able to learn more about the research.

My project page stops accepting donations on November 1st at 12:00 AM PT, so be sure to make your way over to the page by then to give your support!

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope that you will explore the project page, and help support this cool and unique research!

Colour Change in the Gorgetal Scales of an Anole Dewlap

By Tom Brown

On October 8, 2019

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

An adult male *Anolis amplisquamosus* with black gorgetal scales immediately after capture (left); the same individual ~10 min later with white gorgetal scales. Photo Credit – John David Curlis

Anole dewlaps are excellent examples of a “complex signalling system.” They exhibit a staggering diversity of colours and patterns. Each dewlap is species specific and adapted to enable these lizards to communicate, attract mates and guard their territories from rivals or competitors. Generally, the colour of a dewlap (and its gorgetal scales) is considered an unchangeable descriptive trait. This colouration is not only relied upon by scientists looking to identify a species, but also by anoles that co-occur and partition with different species in their select niche.

Therefore, it might be surprising to learn that recent observations prove rapid colour change in anole gorgetal scales is possible. The question is, what implications does this have?

A recent publication in IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians details an observation of Anolis amplisquamosus whereby a male individual upon capture possessed black gorgetal scales that quickly changed to pale yellow. Upon consulting the literature, it seems only one prior documentation of colour change in gorgetal scales was reported (Leenders and Watkins-Colwell, 2003), coincidentally also involving a member of the same species clade.

This recent observation of chromatophoric regulation in anole gorgetal scales may be significant in the wider context of anole biology, in confirming photographically that coloration is not always a fixed descriptive or diagnostic feature — at least among members of the A. crassulus species group. Accordingly, this information suggests that some anoles may have the ability to regulate the colour of their gorgetal scales in the same manner as they regulate dorsal and lateral scale colour.

Because the colour of gorgetal scales is a character often used in species identification, understanding the mechanics and the purpose of such a change is crucial; as well as any implications to display behaviour, communication and anole interactions.

Brown Anoles in Montgomery County, Texas

By mjohnson216

On October 5, 2019

In All Posts

I recently received an email from Chris McMartin, the director of the Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research, about a population of brown anoles near his home in Montgomery County, Texas, just north of Houston. Chris has done a lot of preliminary research to understand how the Montgomery population is spreading, and would like to know how these lizards are related to the larger population in Harris County.

Interested? Keep reading!

With Chris’ permission, I’ve copied part of his email below:

“I’ve been casually (in my free time, mostly in the summer) researching Brown Anoles (Anolis sagrei) and their spread in southern Montgomery County where I live. As I amass observational data, I’ve noticed the lizards are abundant in some yards/neighborhoods, but nonexistent in adjacent yards/neighborhoods. I’m slowly trying to piece together additional factors (presence of outdoor cats, prevalence of certain landscaping features including decorative rocks and tropical plants, age of house/neighborhood, use of pesticides, etc.) which may explain not only the disparity in abundance but provide clues as to how to control their expansion.

One big question I have is whether the lizards are naturally expanding from a single introduction long ago (e.g. rapidly moving northward from Harris County, where they occur in densities many times higher than the highest I’ve observed in Montgomery County), or are an amalgamation of numerous discrete introductions (e.g. when a home installs new tropical plants from a nursery/home improvement store). Brown Anoles first showed up in my yard a little over a year ago, marking an expansion northward of about ¾ of a mile from my previous northernmost observations the year prior.

I have corresponded with Dr. Benson Morrill, who owns Rare Genetics Inc. offering DNA analysis for (at this time) colubrid snakes (primarily for sex determination) and inquired as to the possibility of sending him samples from various neighborhoods in my area in an effort to determine whether they represent a contiguous related population or are the result of discrete introductions. He says the process to conduct this analysis would be cost-prohibitive for a private individual such as myself, but perhaps a university student would like to take on the project.

As it is, I currently spend what surprisingly-little free time I have in the summer exploring neighborhoods in my neck of the woods and documenting my obervations—around 60 hours this past summer between field work and analysis—and I’m approaching my limit of resources in time (and definitely money, if considering DNA analysis as part of the project). This is where I think perhaps a graduate student might be interested in taking on a study of Brown Anoles as a thesis project…lots of possible threads to pull (competition with natives, rate of range expansion, effect of occasional hard freezes on population, etc.).

I’ve published articles in local magazines/newspapers about the lizards and have a public-opinion survey from a year ago (still awaiting analysis) trying to find any links between various conditions (age of neighborhood, presence of outdoor cats, etc.) and occurrence/prevalence of browns, especially with respect to A. carolinensis. Some interesting things seem to be occurring. Anecdotally, browns are eating greens (hatchlings), Broad-headed Skinks are eating browns, and greens are eating the skinks (with photographic evidence)! Sort of a three-way lacertilian arms race.”

If this sounds like just the opportunity you’ve been looking for, contact Chris at yall [at] mcmartinville.com.