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1. THE NATURE OF NICHE EXPANSION IN WEST INDIAN ANOLIS LIZARDS I: ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF REDUCED COMPETITION

   https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1976.tb00947.x  

   Lister, Bradford C. ( December 1976 , Evolution)
2. The Difficulty of Predicting Evolutionary Change in Response to Novel Ecological Interactions: A Field Experiment with Anolis Lizards

   https://doi.org/10.1086/723209  

   Thurman, Timothy J. ; Palmer, Todd M. ; Kolbe, Jason J. ; Askary, Arash M. ; Gotanda, Kiyoko M. ; Lapiedra, Oriol ; Kartzinel, Tyler R. ; Man in’t Veld, Naomi ; Revell, Liam J. ; Wegener, Johanna E. ; et al ( April 2023 , The American Naturalist)

   Determining whether and how evolution is predictable is an important goal, particularly as anthropogenic disturbances lead to novel species interactions that could modify selective pres- sures. Here, we use a multigeneration field experiment with brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) to test hypotheses about the predictabil- ity of evolution. We manipulated the presence/absence of predators and competitors of A. sagrei across 16 islands in the Bahamas that had preexisting brown anole populations. Before the experiment and again after roughly five generations, we measured traits related to locomotor performance and habitat use by brown anoles and used double-digest restriction enzyme–associated DNA sequencing to estimate genome-wide changes in allele frequencies. Although previous work showed that predators and competitors had characteristic effects on brown anole behavior, diet, and population sizes, we found that evolutionary change at both phenotypic and genomic levels was difficult to forecast. Phenotypic changes were contingent on sex and hab- itat use, whereas genetic change was unpredictable and not measur- ably correlated with phenotypic changes, experimental treatments, or other environmental factors. Our work shows how differences in ecological context can alter evolutionary outcomes over short timescales and underscores the difficulty of forecasting evolutionary responses to multispecies interactions in natural conditions, even in a well-studied system with ample supporting ecological information. 

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3. Urbanization affects body size and parasitism but not thermal preferences in Anolis lizards

   https://doi.org/10.1093/jue/juy031  

   Thawley, Christopher J ; Moniz, Haley A ; Merritt, Amanda J ; Battles, Andrew C ; Michaelides, Sozos N ; Kolbe, Jason J ( January 2019 , Journal of Urban Ecology)
4. Evolution of a Model System: New Insights from the Study of Anolis Lizards

   https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110421-103306  

   Muñoz, Martha M. ; Frishkoff, Luke O. ; Pruett, Jenna ; Mahler, D. Luke ( November 2023 , Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics)

   With decades of intensive study, Anolis lizards have emerged as a biological model system. We review how new research on anoles has advanced our understanding of ecology and evolution, challenging long-standing paradigms and opening new areas of inquiry. Recent anole research reveals how changes in behavior can restructure ecological communities and can both stimulate and stymie evolution, sometimes simultaneously. Likewise, investigation of anoles as spatial or phylogenetic evolutionary experiments has documented evolutionary repeatability across spatiotemporal scales, while also illuminating its limits. Current research places anoles as an emerging model for Anthropocene biology, with recent work illustrating how species respond as humans reconfigure natural habitats, alter the climate, and create novel environments and communities through urbanization and species introduction. Combined with ongoing methodological developments in genomics, phylogenetics, and ecology, the growing foundational knowledge of Anolis positions them as a powerful model system in ecology and evolution for years to come.

   Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Volume 54 is November 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

    

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5. Artificial light at night increases growth and reproductive output in Anolis lizards

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.1682  

   Thawley, Christopher J. ; Kolbe, Jason J. ( January 2020 , Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)

   Since the invention of electric lighting, artificial light at night (ALAN) has become a defining, and evolutionary novel, feature of human-altered environments especially in cities. ALAN imposes negative impacts on many organisms, including disrupting endocrine function, metabolism, and reproduction. However, we do not know how generalized these impacts are across taxa that exploit urban environments. We exposed brown anole lizards, an abundant and invasive urban exploiter, to relevant levels of ALAN in the laboratory and assessed effects on growth and reproduction at the start of the breeding season. Male and female anoles exposed to ALAN increased growth and did not suffer increased levels of corticosterone. ALAN exposure induced earlier egg-laying, likely by mimicking a longer photoperiod, and increased reproductive output without reducing offspring quality. These increases in growth and reproduction should increase fitness. Anoles, and potentially other taxa, may be resistant to some negative effects of ALAN and able to take advantage of the novel niche space ALAN creates. ALAN and both its negative and positive impacts may play a crucial role in determining which species invade and exploit urban environments. 

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