Hurricanes can shape ecosystems, but little is known about how they affect urban populations. This study compared 3 urban and forest sites in Puerto Rico in the months following Hurricane Maria. They found that populations of Anolis cristatellus both increased and decreased in population size after the storm. But populations closest to the point of landfall had the largest consistent population growth throughout the study period.
New Lit Alert: Phenotypic response to a major hurricane in Anolis lizards in urban and forest habitats
Phenotypic response to a major hurricane in Anolis lizards in urban and forest habitats Kevin J Avilés-Rodríguez, Kristin M Winchell, Luis F De León, Liam J Revell Abstract Little is known about the synergistic impacts of urbanization and hurricanes on synanthropes. We compared morphological traits of the lizard Anolis cristatelluson Puerto Rico sampled before the 2017 category... Continue Reading →
Evolution 2019: Urban Lizard Morphology Changes After Hurricane Maria
Kevin Aviles-Rodriguez, a contributor here at LITC, studies urban adaptation and behavior of Anolis lizards. Previously, we told you all about Kevin's research on escape behavior of urban versus forest anoles, which was Kevin's MS research. During his PhD, Kevin has been focusing more on landscape genetics and the morphological impacts of hurricane Maria in urban... Continue Reading →