{"678852":{"#nid":"678852","#data":{"type":"news","title":"When Two Lizards Meet for the First Time, Scientists Witness Evolution in Action","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn South Florida, two Caribbean lizard species met for the first time. What followed provided some of the clearest evidence to date of evolution in action.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ELead author\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/stroudlab\/join-the-lab\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJames Stroud\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Ean\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Eassistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/james-stroud\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, was studying Cuban brown anoles (\u003Cem\u003EAnolis sagrei\u003C\/em\u003E) in South Florida when the Puerto Rican crested anole (\u003Cem\u003EAnolis cristatellus\u003C\/em\u003E), suddenly appeared in the region.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EPublished in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-024-54302-1.epdf?sharing_token=cCJvKIK6rVqpik19O88JwtRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0NwUorP476Y4jLsgGuqSAy15EWx6cY5SdIF2hXP_GmsRUYQro-0wMfbHCY1D8ONB1QWEQXaYt15UBeD7OpG167UviXAMCzzoBMrp53-BYvE3IoF1JS6UoKl6ekAt8Whmyk%3D\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENature Communications\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the study documents what happens as the two\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EAnolis\u003C\/em\u003E lizards adapted in response to the new competitor, while helping to resolve a longstanding challenge in evolutionary biology \u2014 directly observing the role of natural selection in character displacement: how similar animals adapt in response to competition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0022Most of what we know about how animals change in response to this process comes from studying patterns that evolved long ago,\u201d Stroud says. \u201cThis was a rare opportunity where we could watch evolution as it happened.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECompetition from coexistence\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EWhile these two small, brown lizards diverged evolutionarily between 40-60 million years ago and evolved on completely separate Caribbean islands, the two species are nearly identical, and fill similar ecological niches.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESo, when the Puerto Rican crested anole suddenly appeared in Cuban brown anole habitat at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in 2018, the two were competing for similar habitats and food sources.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWhen two similar species compete for the same resources, like food and territory, they often evolve differences that allow them to coexist,\u201d Stroud says. But, while scientists have found many examples of similar species developing different traits to ease this overlap, \u201cscientists have rarely been able to observe this process as it unfolds in nature.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EStroud\u2019s team had already been studying Cuban brown anoles at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Miami, Florida, two years prior to when the crested anoles invaded. The team was able to quickly pivot to observe how the invasion changed both species, analyzing the lizards\u2019 changing diets, measuring if the lizards were moving through foliage or on the forest floor, and recording the different species\u2019 locations relative to each other. For over a thousand lizards, they also measured perch height \u2014 the distance from the ground that the lizard is perching \u2014 a primary marker of how\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EAnolis\u003C\/em\u003E lizards divvy up habitat.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe not only observed how these lizards changed their habitat use and behavior when they encountered each other,\u201d says Stroud, \u201cbut we also documented the natural selection pressures driving their physical evolution in real-time.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHuman-made habitats and natural experiments\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe research team found that when these lizard species occur together, they divide up their habitat in predictable ways \u2014 the Cuban brown anole shifted to spend more time on the ground, and evolved longer legs to run faster in this habitat, while the slightly larger Cuban crested anole lived in vegetation above the ground.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0022We found that brown anoles with longer legs had higher survival after crested anoles showed up,\u0022 says Stroud. \u0022This matches perfectly with the physical differences we see in populations where these species have been living together for many generations.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EStroud adds that while the research provides some of the strongest observations of evolution in action to date, it also demonstrates how human activities can create natural experiments that help us understand fundamental evolutionary processes \u2014 both species of\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EAnolis\u003C\/em\u003E lizard in the study were originally non-native to South Florida.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cAs species increasingly come into contact due to human-mediated introductions and climate change, these studies may be important for predicting how communities will respond,\u201d he says. \u0022By studying these non-native lizards who are meeting each other for the first time in their existence, we had a unique opportunity to see the actual process unfold and connect it to the patterns we observe in nature.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Georgia Tech-led study captures two lizard species adapting in response to competition. The study provides some of the clearest evidence to date of evolution in action.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Georgia Tech-led study captures two lizard species adapting in response to competition. The study provides some of the clearest evidence to date of evolution in action."}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2024-12-12 17:18:34","changed_gmt":"2024-12-20 15:15:11","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2024-12-13T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-12-13T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675843":{"id":"675843","type":"image","title":"Two Cuban brown anoles, Anolis sagrei (Credit: Day\u0027s Edge Productions)","body":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo Cuban brown anoles, \u003Cem\u003EAnolis sagrei \u003C\/em\u003E(Credit: Day\u0027s Edge Productions)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1734023998","gmt_created":"2024-12-12 17:19:58","changed":"1734023998","gmt_changed":"2024-12-12 17:19:58","alt":"Two Cuban brown anoles, Anolis sagrei (Credit: Day\u0027s Edge Productions)","file":{"fid":"259515","name":"Cuban brown anoles (Anolis 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cristatellus (Credit: Days Edge Productions)","file":{"fid":"259513","name":"2Peurto Rican crested anole (Anolis cristatellus).jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/12\/12\/2Peurto%20Rican%20crested%20anole%20%28Anolis%20cristatellus%29.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/12\/12\/2Peurto%20Rican%20crested%20anole%20%28Anolis%20cristatellus%29.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":162707,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/12\/12\/2Peurto%20Rican%20crested%20anole%20%28Anolis%20cristatellus%29.jpeg?itok=M_qLT6-n"}}},"media_ids":["675843","675842","675841"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/2024\/11\/30\/the-lizard-wars-of-south-florida-help-reveal-how-evolution-works\/?share=ptwandslsauw0r2peiaw","title":"The lizard wars of South Florida help reveal how evolution works"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-024-54302-1","title":"Observing character displacement from process to pattern in a novel vertebrate community"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.nbcmiami.com\/news\/local\/will-iguanas-fall-from-trees-in-south-florida-with-this-upcoming-cold-front\/3483732\/","title":"How cold does it need to get before frozen iguanas start falling from trees in South Florida?"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWritten by Selena Langner\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EContact: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto: jess.hunt@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}