Lizard Records at the Palm-Grove Camp

A Wildlife Visit During the Camping Trip

During a camping trip, a group visits a wildlife team beside the palm-grove tent platforms. Brown anole lizards live among the nearby plants. These lizards belong to the same species, but their traits differ. Some have longer legs than others of similar body size. Males also differ in the size of their throat fans. A throat fan is a flap of skin that a male spreads during displays.

The team shares made-up practice records based on behaviors scientists study. For a running test, scientists compared 12 longer-legged males with 12 shorter-legged males. The groups had similar body sizes and throat-fan sizes. Each lizard ran once along a wide wooden path and once along a thin wooden path. Both paths were 30 centimeters long, had the same surface texture, and rested just above soft leaf litter. The scientists changed the path width and counted runs completed without slipping. Lizards moved without being chased. Some tried the wide path first; others tried the thin path first.

Anoles sometimes run along logs and branches. Birds that hunt lizards may approach those places. The running test did not include birds or measure how many lizards survived.

The team also watched a different group in a planted enclosure during the breeding season. This group included 12 large-fan males and 12 small-fan males of similar body sizes and leg lengths. Females could move among the males. During two weeks, 7 large-fan males and 3 small-fan males were seen mating at least once. Mating can lead to young. The team did not count eggs or hatchlings. Visitors watched quietly and did not handle the lizards.