INTRODUCTIONThe short film The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree introduces the anole lizards of theCaribbean. For well over 20 years, scientists have studied these lizards to understand how the different anolespecies and their traits have evolved. In this activity, you will examine the results from a different experimentthat included a predator of anoles.PART 1: Observations and
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INTRODUCTION
The short film The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree introduces the anole lizards of the
Caribbean. For well over 20 years, scientists have studied these lizards to understand how the different anole
species and their traits have evolved. In this activity, you will examine the results from a different experiment
that included a predator of anoles.
PART 1: Observations and Hypothesis
Biologist Jonathan Losos and his colleagues conducted this experiment on a group of small islands near Abaco in
the northern Bahamas (Figure 1).
Figure 1. A map of the islands in the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean. The inset shows Great Abaco Island in the
northern Bahamas.
These islands near Abaco are home to a single species of anole, Anolis sagrei. These anoles spend most of their
active time on the ground or on the lower parts of tree trunks, where they search for food and mates. A. sagrei
anoles have relatively long legs compared to other species of anoles, though leg length varies among individuals
in a population.
Some islands are also home to a large predatory lizard called the curly-tailed lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus). L.
carinatus hunts for its prey, which includes anoles, on the ground. On islands with L. carinatus, scientists noticed
that A. sagrei anoles tend to spend more time on bushes and small trees, which L. carinatus lizards are unable to
climb
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