The Evolution Of Lizards: The Evolution Of Anolis Lizards

1744 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Evolution a complicated process

The Evolution of Anolis Lizards
John Opie
BIO 102L-DE
Professor Michael Vieth
July 21, 2017
Introduction:
According to The Princeton Guide of Evolution, evolution refers to change through time as species become modified and diverge to produce multiple descendant species (Losos et al. 2013). Charles Darwin proposed the idea of evolution as “decent with modification” in his book On the Origin of Species in 1859. He introduced the theory that natural selection was the mechanism of decent with modification. Individuals with certain heritable characteristics survive and reproduce at a higher rate than other individuals. Natural selection increases the adaptation of organisms to their environment over time. In this lab, the evolution of Anolis …show more content…

After doing a rough measurement of the lizards we then calculated the relative length which gave us a more accurate number. However, some of the measurement number could have been off or any of the calculations. One thing to change or add to this experiment would be tongue length. Due to the different habitats of the lizards, each species would have a different means for capturing food. One way we can observe this is their tongue length. We know their existing diet consists of small prey like spiders and crickets but overtime would the different habitats change that? We can measure their tongue lengths to see if they would increase, decrease, or stay the same.
Work Cited
Professor Michael Vieth. Biology 102 Lecture Notes.
Losos JB, Baum DA, Donoghue MJ. The Princeton guide to evolution. Princeton; Oxford:
Princeton University Press; 2013. Book.
Nicholson KE, Harmon LJ, Losos JB. Evolution of Anolis Lizard Dewlap Diversity. PLOS ONE. 2007 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0000274 The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree. HHMI’s BioInteractive. 2017. Online.

Show More
Related

  • Natural Selection In Kangaroo Rats

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    Biological evolution is a change in the characteristics of living organisms over generations (Scott, 2017). A basic mechanism of evolution, the genetic drift, and mutation is natural selection. According to Darwin's theory of evolution, natural selection is a process in nature in which only the organisms best adapted to their environmental surroundings have a higher chance of surviving and transmitting their genetic characters in increasing numbers to succeeding generations while those less adapted tend to be eliminated. There has been many experimental research projects that relate to the topic of natural selection and evolution.

    Read More

  • Taking a Look at the Saguaro Lizard

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Without the horned lizard, the Saguaro desert would fall apart quickly. If you have ever heard someone say, “Hey look! There’s a horned toad!” they are really referring to a horned lizard. They have spines (spikes) to protect themselves from predators. These lizards move slowly, and are patient for their food. They eat mostly insects such as ants, and in the Saguaro desert, they eat kangaroo rats. There are 14 different species of horned lizards. They are different in some ways, but all of their colors resemble their surroundings, and it helps them to stay safer. Horned lizards can survive in many climates and temperatures. If it gets too hot, they burrow with their head sticking out at the surface of the ground. That way, it cools them down without having to go far. Conveniently they can stay in their home for the winter. They survive by burrowing in the ground and hibernating. Horned lizards mostly lay eggs, but for some species, the young are born alive. After the eggs are laid, the parents ...

    Read More

  • grey tree frogs

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hyla versicolor, commonly know as the Gray Tree Frog or the Eastern Gray Tree Frog, is an amphibian that is referred to as the “Chameleon of the Frog world” (Craighead, 2004, p.1) because of its ability to change colors. “This frog was once thought to be the same species as the Cope’s Gray Tree Frog”. They can only be distinguished by their calls and the fact that the Cope Gray Tree Frog is diploid while the Gray Tree Frog is tetraploid (NPWRC, 2004). The Gray Tree Frog is classified as follows:

    Read More

  • The Evolution Of The Tufted Titmouse

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    Evolution, also known as descent with modification, is a phrase Darwin used in proposing the evolution of Earth’s many species. Charles Darwin noticed that the descendants of ancestral species were different from the present day forms of species. Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by Charles Darwin who was an English naturalist. He expounded the theory of evolution in his book of the Origin Species in 1859. He expresses that all types of organisms emerge and develop through natural selection, small, acquired traits that expands the individuals of capacity, survival, and reproduction. In this book, Darwin theorized that animals and plants evolve and develop with the aid of the creator through the process of natural selection.

    Read More

  • Jurassic Park Synopsis

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton, starts off with Mike Bowman taking a vacation with his family on the coast of Costa Rica. As they cruise on their Land Rover, Tina, Bowman’s daughter, runs off after spotting three-toed bird tracks. Tina then encounters a big lizard that makes chirping sounds, and is attacked by it. She is later sent to the hospital, where Dr. Gutierrez is intrigued to find out about the lizard that bit her left arm. Gutierrez goes back to the beach where Tina was attacked, and finds the carcass of a brown-striped lizard. The carcass is sent to the Tropical Diseases Laboratory of Columbia University Medical Center, where it is examined and analyzed. Despite the efforts made, no one is able to identify the lizard’s species, so the carcass is later sent to the Museum of Natural History for further analysis.

    Read More

  • The Process of Natural Selection

    1714 Words  | 4 Pages

    Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection explains the general laws by which any given species transforms into other varieties and species. Darwin extends the application of his theory to the entire hierarchy of classification and states that all forms of life have descended from one incredibly remote ancestor. The process of natural selection entails the divergence of character of specific varieties and the subsequent classification of once-related living forms as distinct entities on one or many levels of classification. The process occurs as a species varies slightly over the course of numerous generations. Through inheritance, natural selection preserves each variation that proves advantageous to that species in its present circumstances of living, which include its interaction with closely related species in the “struggle for existence” (Darwin 62).

    Read More

  • Survival Adaptations Of The Glass Frog

    86 Words  | 1 Pages

    Survival Adaptations: The survival adaptions of the glass frog is very interesting. As you know the glass frog is see through that really helps the frog for survival because when you are flying around and you see the frog you will not see it because the frog melts into the leaf. The color of the frog is very interesting it self if you are in one part of Costa Rica the frog will be dark green but in a different part it might be light

    Read More

  • The Impact of the Little Rock Nine

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    Works Cited Bates, D. (1957, December 17). Letter from Roy Wilkins. Little Rock, Arkansas, United States of America. Beals, M. P. (1994). The Species of the World.

    Read More

  • The Evolution of Human Skin Color

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Darwin and his theory on evolution, organisms are presented with nature’s challenge of environmental change. Those that possess the characteristics of adapting to such challenges are successful in leaving their genes behind and ensuring that their lineage will continue. It is natural selection, where nature can perform tiny to mass sporadic experiments on its organisms, and the results can be interesting from extinction to significant changes within a species.

    Read More

  • Child Labor and England’s Industrial Revolution

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... Oxford, Manchester: Manchester University Press. Dreary, T. (1994). The Species of the World.

    Read More

  • Natural and Artificial Selection

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many scientists in the past, such as Aristotle and Plato, believed that there were no changes in populations; however, other scientists, such as Darwin and Wallace, arose and argued that species inherit heritable traits from common ancestors and environmental forces drives out certain heritable traits that makes the species better suited to survive or be more “fit” for that environment. Therefore, species do change over a period of time and they were able to support their theory by showing that evolution does occur. There were four basic mechanisms of evolution in their theory: mutation, migration, genetic drift, and natural selection. Natural selection is the gradual process by which heritable traits that makes it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce increases, whereas there is a decline in those who do have those beneficial heritable traits (Natural Selection). For example, there is a decrease in rain which causes a drought in the finches’ environment. The seeds in the finches’ environment would not be soft enough for the smaller and weaker beak finches to break; therefore, they cannot compete with the larger and stronger beak finches for food. The larger and stronger beak finches has a heritable trait that helps them survive and reproduce better than others for that particular environment which makes them categorized under natural selection (Freeman, 2002).

    Read More

  • Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species

    2156 Words  | 5 Pages

    Darwin writes on how a species will adapt to its environment given enough time. When an animal gains a genetic edge over its competitors, be they of the same species or of another genus altogether, the animal has increased its chance of either procreation or adaptation. When this animal has this beneficial variance, the advantage becomes his and because of this, the trait is then passed on to the animals offspring.

    Read More

  • Sauropod Dinosaurs

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    Due to the competition that presented itself naturally in the wild, Sauropods were well adapted in all aspects so that they would maintain their survival. As plant eaters, sauropods were adapted with very long necks. Mamenchisaurus had the longest neck which was about 50 feet long, more than half of its body length (Thomas, 2011). The neck length also varied from one sauropod to another. Sauropods such as Sauroposeidon and Brachiosaurus (the Brachiosaurids) had necks that were vertically positioned like that of the giraffe. In addition, other sauropods had necks that were horizontal-like and parallel to the ground. An example of that type of sauropod is the diplodocus. Long necks were important for them to reach the leaves that were high on the trees (Levin, 2012).

    Read More

  • Penguin Evolution

    1736 Words  | 4 Pages

    Davis, Lloyd S. and John T Darby. Penguin Biology. San Diego: Academic Press,      Inc., 1990.

    Read More

  • Darwin's Theory Of Natural Selection

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    The theory of progress by the aspect of natural selection was formulated by Darwin. This theory explains the origin of genus and the development in which organisms transform over a period because of the well-known changes that occur due to behavioral or bodily traits. Change in such a case allows organisms to adapt to the environment and survive by making more offspring. The major tenets of this theory are hedged on the facts that organisms are bound to produce more offspring that have the capacity to survive. Variations are mainly passed from parents to the offspring, and they may occur among individuals of a given species over a period. Some of the essential variations turn out as common in populations.

    Read More

More about The Evolution Of Lizards: The Evolution Of Anolis Lizards

Open Document