Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree: Ecology and Adaptive Radiation of Anoles (Organisms and Environments)

528 Pages·2009·17.16 MB·English

by  Jonathan B. Losos

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LIZARDS IN AN EVOLUTIONARY TREE
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ORGANISMS AND ENVIRONMENTS
Harry W. Greene, Consulting Editor
1. The View from Bald Hill: Thirty Years in an Arizona Grassland, by
Carl E. Bock and Jane H. Bock
2. Tupai: A Field Study of Bornean Treeshrews,by Louise H.
Emmons
3. Singing the Turtles to Sea: The Comcáac (Seri) Art and Science of
Reptiles, by Gary Paul Nabhan
4. Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California, Including Its
Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of Cortés, by L. Lee
Grismer
5. Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity, by Eric R. Pianka
and Laurie J. Vitt
6. American Bison: A Natural History,by Dale F. Lott
7. A Bat Man in the Tropics: Chasing El Duende,by Theodore H.
Fleming
8. Twilight of the Mammoths: Ice Age Extinctions and the Rewilding
of America, by Paul S. Martin
9. Biology of Gila Monsters and Beaded Lizards,byDaniel D. Beck
10. Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree: Ecology and Adaptive
Radiation of Anoles, by Jonathan B. Losos
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LIZARDS IN AN
EVOLUTIONARY TREE
Ecology and Adaptive Radiation of Anoles
Jonathan B. Losos
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley Los Angeles London
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the publisher and author gratefully acknowledge the
generous contribution to this book provided by
museum of comparative zoology, harvard university
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing
scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activi-
ties are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contri-
butions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit
www.ucpress.edu.
Organisms and Environments, No. 10
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2009 by the Regents of the University of California
All photographs are property of the author unless otherwise indicated.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Losos, Jonathan B.
Lizards in an evolutionary tree :ecology and adaptive
radiation of anoles / Jonathan B. Losos.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-520-25591-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Anoles—Evolution. 2. Anoles—Ecology.
3. Anoles—Adaptation. I. Title.
QL666.L268L67 2009
597.95'48138—dc22 2008027796
Manufactured in Singapore
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Cover illustration: Anolis monticola.Photo copyright Eladeo Fernández.
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To my wife, Melissa Losos, my parents, Carolyn and
Joseph Losos, and my sisters, Carol, Elizabeth, and Louise
Losos, for their love and support throughout my life
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The Page Left Intentionally Blank
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CONTENTS
Foreword by Harry W. Greene • ix
Acknowledgments • xiii
Prologue: The Case for Anolis • xvii
1. Evolutionary Biology as a Historical Science • 1
2. Meet the Anoles! • 11
3. Five Anole Faunas, Part One: Greater Antillean Ecomorphs • 29
4. Five Anole Faunas, Part Two: The Other Four • 59
5. Phylogenetics, Evolutionary Inference, and Anole
Relationships • 81
6. Phylogenetic Perspective on the Timing and Biogeography
of Anole Evolution • 99
7. Evolution of Ecomorphological Diversity • 113
8. Cradle to Grave: Anole Life History and Population Biology • 135
9. Social Behavior, Sexual Selection, and Sexual Dimorphism • 161
10. Habitat Use • 189
11. Ecology and Adaptive Radiation • 205
vii
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12. Natural Selection and Microevolution • 233
13. Form, Function, and Adaptive Radiation • 257
14. Speciation and Geographic Differentiation • 291
15. The Evolution of an Adaptive Radiation • 317
16. The Five Faunas Reconsidered • 351
17. Are Anoles Special, and If So, Why? • 383
Afterword • 411
References • 421
Index • 495
viii • CONTENTS
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FOREWORD
Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree: Ecology and Adaptive Radiation of Anoles is the tenth
volume in the University of California Press’s series on organisms and environments,
whose unifying themes are the diversity of plants and animals, the ways they interact
with each other and with their surroundings, and the implications of those relationships
for science and society. We seek books that promote unusual, even unexpected connec-
tions among seemingly disparate topics, distinguished by the talents and perspectives of
their authors. Previous volumes have spanned topics as diverse as grassland ecology and
bison behavior, but none has encompassed the breadth and depth of scholarly coverage
achieved here.
Jonathan Losos chronicles the details and historical underpinnings of an extraordi-
nary natural legacy, the adaptive radiation of almost four hundred species of very special
lizards. Thanks to their unusual diversity, abundance, and tractability, anoles have
played central roles in several scientific disciplines, including physiological and commu-
nity ecology, functional morphology, biogeography and molecular evolution. Losos has
synthesized anole biology in lively prose, based on his own extensive studies and thou-
sands of publications by an army of researchers over the past century. From a conceptual
perspective, this book explores the cutting edges of evolutionary biology and ecology, our
search for patterns and causal explanations for biodiversity. Why are there more species
in some places than others, and what drives diversification? How do individuals interact
with others of their species? Is competition among species important? And what will be
the fate of anoles on our rapidly changing planet?
ix