Jonathan B. Losos

Only a handful of multi-generational experiments in natural systems of eco-evolutionary dynamics currently exist, despite Fussmann et al.'s call for more such studies nearly a decade ago. To perform such a study, in 2008 we introduced the lizard Leiocephalus carinatus, a predator (and possible food competitor) of the lizard Anolis sagrei, to seven islands having A. sagrei, with seven unmanipulated islands having A. sagrei as controls. Almost immediately, L. carinatus, which is larger and more terrestrial than A. sagrei, caused a major habitat shift in A. sagrei away from the ground and toward higher and thinner perches; focal behavioral surveys showed that on islands where its predator was introduced, A. sagrei had less conspicuous visual displays. The expected pattern for density of A. sagrei is that it would decrease markedly at first via predation from the larger lizard, but then it would increase as the habitat shift selected for individuals better able to live in higher vegetation. Data through 2015 ...

We examined asymmetry in the color of the dewlap of Anolis lineatus from Curaçao. We confirmed previous reports that one side of the dewlap appears more yellow in color than the other and, contrary to previous work, demonstrate a directional bias such that the left side is usually the more yellow side. At one site surveyed twice in 3.5 years, the proportion of left- and right-sided males changed significantly. A behavioral experiment failed to find a significant tendency for males to direct the more yellow or more orange side of the dewlap to other individuals while displaying.

Species-rich adaptive radiations typically diversify along several distinct ecological axes, each characterized by morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations. We test here whether different types of adaptive traits share similar patterns of evolution within a radiation by investigating patterns of evolution of morphological traits associated with microhabitat specialization and of physiological traits associated with thermal biology in Anolis lizards. Previous studies of anoles suggest that close relatives share the same "structural niche" (i.e., use the same types of perches) and are similar in body size and shape, but live in different "climatic niches" (i.e., use habitats with different insolation and temperature profiles). Because morphology is closely tied to structural niche and field active body temperatures are tied to climatic niches in Anolis, we expected phylogenetic analyses to show that morphology is more evolutionarily conservative than thermal physiology. In support of this hypothesis, we find (1) that thermal biology exhibits more divergence among recently diverged Anolis taxa than does morphology; and (2) diversification of thermal biology among all species often follows diversification in morphology. These conclusions are remarkably consistent with predictions made by anole biologists in the 1960s and 1970s.

New theoretical and conceptual frameworks are required for evolutionary biology to capitalize on the wealth of data now becoming available from the study of genomes, phenotypes, and organisms - including humans - in their natural environments.

At the dawn of molecular phylogenetics, much was made of the conflict between results from morphological and molecular data sets. Although molecular data have rarely changed our understanding of the major multicellular groups of the evolutionary tree of life, they have suggested changes in the relationships within many groups, such as the evolutionary position of whales in the clade of even-toed ungulates (1). Further investigation has usually resolved conflicts, often by revealing inadequacies in previous morphological studies. This has led to a presumption by many in favor of molecular data, but a recent morphological analysis by Gauthier et al. (2) argues persuasively that we should reconsider whether DNA is always inherently superior for inferring life's history.

Comparative studies of amniotes have been hindered by a dearth of reptilian molecular sequences. With the genomic assembly of the green anole, Anolis carolinensis available, non-avian reptilian genes can now be compared to mammalian, avian, and amphibian homologs. Furthermore, with more than 350 extant species in the genus Anolis, anoles are an unparalleled example of tetrapod genetic diversity and divergence. As an important ecological, genetic and now genomic reference, it is imperative to develop a standardized Anolis gene nomenclature alongside associated vocabularies and other useful metrics.