{"681704":{"#nid":"681704","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"What the secret lives of lizards tell us about evolution","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn an article published in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EThe Washington Post\u003C\/em\u003E, Assistant Professor in the School of Biological Sciences\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/james-stroud\u0022\u003EJames Stroud\u003C\/a\u003E provides an overview of his research:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EEvery morning in Miami, our fieldwork begins the same way. Fresh Cuban coffee and pastelitos \u2014 delicious Latin American pastries \u2014 fuel our team for another day of evolutionary detective work. In this case, we are tracking evolution in real time, measuring natural selection as it happens in a community of Caribbean\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Elizards\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EOur research takes place on a South Florida island roughly the size of an American football field \u2014 assuming we are successful in sidestepping the American crocodiles that bask in the surrounding lake. We call it\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ELizard\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003EIsland, and it\u0027s a special place.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESince 2015, we have been conducting evolutionary research here on five species of remarkable\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Elizards\u003C\/em\u003E called\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Eanoles\u003C\/em\u003E. Our team is working to understand one of biology\u0027s most fundamental questions: How does natural selection drive evolution in real time?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThis also appeared in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/amid-a-tropical-paradise-known-as-lizard-island-researchers-are-cracking-open-evolutions-black-box-scientist-at-work-246474\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Conversation\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn an article published in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EThe Washington Post\u003C\/em\u003E, Assistant Professor in the School of Biological Sciences\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/james-stroud\u0022\u003EJames Stroud\u003C\/a\u003E provides an overview of his research:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EEvery morning in Miami, our fieldwork begins the same way. Fresh Cuban coffee and pastelitos \u2014 delicious Latin American pastries \u2014 fuel our team for another day of evolutionary detective work. In this case, we are tracking evolution in real time, measuring natural selection as it happens in a community of Caribbean\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Elizards\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EOur research takes place on a South Florida island roughly the size of an American football field \u2014 assuming we are successful in sidestepping the American crocodiles that bask in the surrounding lake. We call it\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ELizard\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003EIsland, and it\u0027s a special place.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ESince 2015, we have been conducting evolutionary research here on five species of remarkable\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Elizards\u003C\/em\u003E called\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Eanoles\u003C\/em\u003E. Our team is working to understand one of biology\u0027s most fundamental questions: How does natural selection drive evolution in real time?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThis also appeared in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/amid-a-tropical-paradise-known-as-lizard-island-researchers-are-cracking-open-evolutions-black-box-scientist-at-work-246474\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Conversation\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2025-04-09 19:44:54","changed_gmt":"2025-04-10 14:35:29","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"The Washington Post","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/science\/2025\/03\/23\/anoles-lizard-island-evolution-traits\/","dateline":{"date":"2025-03-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-03-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"193151","name":"anoles"},{"id":"193385","name":"evolutionary ecology"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}