Tag: Puerto Rico

Is Plastic Always Fantastic? Selection on Thermal Plasticity in Urban Anoles

a lizard clinging to a metal fence

A recent publication in Nature Communications goes above and beyond in studying how selection on adaptive and/or maladaptive gene expression plasticity may be regulating thermal tolerance in urban anoles. The importance of plasticity in the colonization of new environments is a widely-accepted argument, however, the role of plasticity in facilitating adaptive evolution remains controversial. Plasticity... Continue Reading →

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New Lit Alert: Phenotypic response to a major hurricane in Anolis lizards in urban and forest habitats

urban lizard on a fence

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 →

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Anoles Adapt to Beat the Urban Heat

Urban areas are hot. The urban heat island effect causes urbanized regions to be significantly warmer than nearby forested areas, and the tropical islands of the Caribbean are no exception to this pattern. Just spend a few minutes in the noon heat in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and you will beg for the cool reprieve... Continue Reading →

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Evolution 2019: Do Anoles Adapt to Urbanization in Similar Ways? Maybe.

A major outstanding question in urban evolution (and evolutionary biology in general) is whether adaptation occurs in similar ways in different populations and across species boundaries. In other words, can the common selective pressures of urban environments lead to convergent adaptation? In my doctoral research, I found that the Puerto Rican crested anole, Anolis cristatellus, adapted... Continue Reading →

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