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BIOLOGY 1450 - Look Whos Coming For Dinner (LIZARD PREDATION)

INTRODUCTION The short film The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree introduces the anole lizards of the Caribbean. For well over 20 years, scientists have studied these lizards to und e... rstand how the different anole species and their traits have evolved. In this activity, you will examine the results from a different experiment that included a predator of anoles. PART 1: Observations and Hypothesis Biologist Jonathan Losos and his colleagues conducted this experiment on a group of small islands near Abaco in the northern Bahamas (Figure 1). Figure 1. A map of the islands in the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean. The inset shows Great Abaco Island in the northern Bahamas. These islands near Abaco are home to a single species of anole, Anolis sagrei. These anoles spend most of their active time on the ground or on the lower parts of tree trunks, where they search for food and mates. A. sagrei anoles have relatively long legs compared to other species of anoles, though leg length varies among individuals in a population. Some islands are also home to a large predatory lizard called the curly-tailed lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus). L. carinatus hunts for its prey, which includes anoles, on the ground. On islands with L. carinatus, scientists noticed that A. sagrei anoles tend to spend more time on bushes and small trees, which L. carinatus lizards are unable to climb Show Less Show Less [Show More]

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