Anolis lizards in Florida, video

This video from the USA says about itself:

Evolution in Action: “Who’s Your Neighbor?”

by Day’s Edge Productions

A short film about Anolis lizard research being conducted by Neil Losin, an evolutionary biologist at UCLA. Neil studies the behavior, ecology, and evolution of two Caribbean species of Anolis that have become invasive in South Florida.

Film by Neil Losin and Nathan Dappen. Narrated by Shauna Price. Music courtesy of Dan Warren (danwarren.net).

For more than a century, scientists have understood that natural selection have profound effects on how an animal looks — Anolis lizards that spend more time on the ground, for example, might need longer legs for running, while species that remain in the trees usually have shorter legs better suited for climbing. But can different behaviors be favored by natural selection under different environments? Here.

If you’ve ever spent some time in the Caribbean, you might have noticed that humans are not the only organisms soaking up the sun. Anoles — diminutive little tree lizards — spend much of their day shuttling in and out of shade. But, according to a new study in Evolution led by assistant professor Martha Muñoz at Virginia Tech and Jhan Salazar at Universidad Icesi, this behavioral “thermoregulation” isn’t just affecting their body temperature. Surprisingly, it’s also slowing their evolution: here.