Meeting Abstract

44.4  Monday, Jan. 5  Why are mainland anoles different? An ecomorphological perspective. HERREL, A*; VELASCO, J; SASA, M; CAMPBELL-STATON, S; CRANDELL, K; FENSTERMACHER, K; FRANK, H; MAHLER, L; MUNOZ, M; VAN MIDDLESWORTH, P; LOSOS, J; Harvard University; Wildlife Conservation Society; Univ. de Costa Rica; Rochester University; Lewis and Clark College; Harvard University; Harvard University; Harvard University; Harvard University; Harvard University; Harvard University anthony.herrel@ua.ac.be

Anolis lizards have become a model system for the study of adaptive radiations as species with similar morphologies have radiated independently into similar ecological niches on each island of the Greater Antilles. However, Anolis lizards on the mainland of Central and South America have undergone an equally spectacular adaptive radiation, occupying similar ecological niches but without converging onto the same morphologies. Why mainland species have not converged on similar morphologies has remained unclear, but differences in predation pressure, competition, and behavior have been suggested. However, tests of these hypotheses have not been conducted due to a lack of quantitative ecological, morphological, behavioral, and performance data. Here we provide such data for 9 species of Anolis from Costa Rica to explore ecomorphological relationships among mainland anoles. Additionally, we provide data on 4 insular Anolis from Gorgona island, Colombia belonging to the mainland alpha-radiation of Anolis to test whether differences between mainland and Greater Antillean Anolis are associated with insularity. Our data suggest that differences between mainland and Caribbean Anolis are not a consequence of insularity per se, but rather indicate basic differences in ecomorphological relationships on the mainland versus the Greater Antilles.