Levi (aka Grew), and his minions (Joshua and Will) have invaded Marsh Harbour. Their assignment to collect and mark as many A. sagrei as possible. Those lizards will be used to measure behavioral flexibility under natural conditions.From left to right, Joshua, Grew and Will. It is clear that Josh and Will
have the upper hand over Grew.  
Levi, tagging a female A. sagreiPlease stay tuned, Levi will be updating the progress of this project over the next few weeks.

We’re baaaackkkkk! Deborah and I are back at El Verde Field Station, and gearing up for another busy field season here in the rainforest! Thus far, El Yunque is earning its rainforest title. Deborah and I have spent some very damp days chasing lizards. But, how else do you learn that Anolis gundlachican still be caught in a torrential down pour?! Deborah leads the lizard count by a loooonnnggg shot—she’s putting me to shame!
We've got a bunch of projects on the docket, so tune back in for some (hopefully) exciting updates as our field season unfolds!
Shameless "Made-It!" Selfie49.5 Pounds--I WIN!

This trip has been full of setbacks, problems with the engine of the boat that kept us grounded for four days to stormy weather that make impossible to find lizards. Particularly, when you are trying to measure their body-temperature. Today all those setbacks felt like a walk in the park, compared to the one that broke the camel’s back. At 6:20am I opened the back of the minivan and saw what you see in the photo below.
WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!You must be wondering, what is the big deal of seeing a gas tank, well, that the engine that was next to it 10 hours before and now is missing. Correcto, un “C*B*&%” broke into the car and stole the engine. So we are again grounded and unclear that we will be back in the cays any time soon.  

Joshua and Will are slowly learning the tools of the trade for doing fieldwork in The Bahamas. Those trades include, a daily routine of securing The Leaping Lizard, dealing with the low tide and collecting ecological data on Anolis sagrei.
Josh and Will untying The Leaping Lizard  Josh and Will experiencing the low tide ritual Levi is also learning, that the tropical sun takes no prisoners. A short day working in cays, is the best demonstration of why SPF 70, was developed.
It looks like Levi was out in the sun     
   

The house gecko (Hemidactylus sp) is a common sighting around Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas. As shown in the photo, it has become part of the diet of the West Indian Woodpecker (Melanerpes superciliaris). A substantial source of protein for the hatchlings waiting inside the nest, and potentially a change in foraging behavior in the woodpecker. I observed the woodpecker searching for geckos in the palm fronds and tossing them to the ground, immediately flying down to capture the geckos. Male West Indian Woodpecker      

It is fitting that Alex’s paper in Ecology Letters has made its debut at a time in which climate change finds itself on the cover of most major newspapers and a subject commonly mentioned in the US presidential campaign. The paper, entitled “Aconceptual framework for understanding thermal constraints on ectothermactivity with implications for predicting responses to global change,” nicely illustrates the importance of having boots on the ground to measure variables at scales relevant to the species in question,or in other words, of doing natural history work in order to inform climate change models. A major step towards understating climate changeThe main objective of the conceptual framework is to predict how changes in temperature can affect the activity windows of ectothermic species, which likely impact the probability of maintaining viable populations. To do this, the framework shows how the integration of basic natural history parameters of thermal physiology and behavior can provide significant insight into models forecasting the effects of climate change.
It should be noted that Alex is not re-inventing the wheel. In fact, the strength of this framework is its simplicity and organism-centered approach, in which four components of temperature-dependent activity (thresholds, probabilities, modes, and vigor) are integrated to predict activity windows at the scales at which organisms experience ambient temperature and potentially respond to it, either behaviorally, physiologically and or evolutionary. Furthermore, most of the variables that form the building blocks for the framework were commonly measured two decades ago. However, they have become rare in present studies of thermal physiology. My hope is that now that Alex has shown why we need them, they will become popular once again.
The framework is graphically illustrated in the figure below. Two main points to take out of this graph are: 1) the probability of activity is not a constant across all temperatures, and 2) once an individual is active, the probability of engaging in a given behavior will be determined by its body temperature. These predictions should not come as a surprise to those of us that have spent time in the field observing the behavior of individuals. But surprisingly, the use of a probability approach to describe the activity of individuals is not commonly integrated in current models of climate change, and even more rarely is it recognized that different behaviors are expected at different body temperatures.Figure 2, shows how the probability of activity is a continuous variable, and how the probability and of exhibiting a given would be determine by the body
temperature of the individual  And here is where the plot thickens. When Alex was working on his dissertation, I told him that he should consider collecting data on behavioral activity and body temperature of free living A. cristatellus. My recollection is that his initial response went something like this: “That is an interesting idea, but I am not sure that collecting focal observations is needed now, that type of studies were done a long time ago.” As a persistent advisor, we revisited our conversation and I was able to persuade Alex to “watch lizards” (his words) and to collect data on their behavior and temperature. Although his level of enthusiasm for such an “old style” project was significantly less than his excitement toward finishing the molecular work he was working on to address genetic differences between populations of A. cristatellus.  The photo below shows how happy and excited Alex was about conducting this work, which was not very fancy and highly unlikely to make a splash (paraphrasing his words). Alejandro extremely happy after a day of "watching lizards" The rest is history, and Alex has used his observations to develop insightful ideas, which are slowly making him change his mind with regards to the value of “watching lizards.” This perspective is a culmination of this line of work. 

This weekend, members of the Leal lab ventured to Rock Bridge High School right here in Columbia to participate in the “Soaring Into Science” event put on by Mizzou’s own ReSTEM institute and the Columbia Public School system. This event incorporated many different hands-on science exhibits and activities intended to foster scientific exploration for kids and their families. Levi and Kevin have developed an awesome educational experience for events like the one this weekend, incorporating just a handful of their amphibian and reptile menagerie into an interactive display where onlookers can see, touch, and learn about these ‘Amazing Animals’. By exposing children and adults alike to these cool critters, we were able to communicate about the biology and natural history of these organisms, and highlight various adaptations that illustrate both the diversity and interrelatedness of these organisms.
It was particularly rewarding to talk with locals about snakes, and to express the value of snakes in our local ecosystem and others around the world. Equipped with his fantastic boa, Levi convinced quite a few wary onlookers to touch the snake and learn that most snakes would rather flee from humans than harm them. Plus Kevin's frilled dragon climbed on him and doubled as a tie, so the whole event was an overwhelming success.

Ellee demonstrating her building skills and working on a cage for next set of experiments

Congratulations to our own Ellee Cook for her first place performance in the poster competition at the Society for the Study ofAmphibians and Reptiles, 2015 Annual Meeting at University of Kansas. Ellee’s poster entitled "Is bigger always better? Evaluating individual differences in territorial behavior among female Anolis gundlachi lizards" received the Victor Hutchison Award, under the category of Ecology, Natural History, Distribution and Behavior. 
I am positive that this is the first recognition--of many more to come--of Ellee’s research addressing territoriality in female anoles.

Those that follow the Chipojoblog are familiar with my motto “I strive to become a naturalist.” This motto reflects my view, and the approach used in my lab, that developing an intimate understanding of the ecology and behavior of the organisms we work with is an integral part of our research program. The majority of our "posts" are done with the objective of sharing our observations, made under natural conditions, of the behavior or ecology of anoles, what is commonly labeled as natural history. These observations are extremely valuable as they formed the building blocks for the exploration of new hypotheses.

   Our most recent paper, co-author with Leo Fleishman, and recently published on Functional Ecology “Whydo Anolis lizard dewlaps glow? An analysis of a translucent visual signal” is a prime example of this approach, in which detailed observations of an organism's general ecology are examined within a theoretical framework to yield novel hypotheses: what I called Experimental Natural History.

   In the case of this paper the observation happened a long time. So long, that at the time I was a graduate student finishing my work and getting ready to move to Leo’s lab. I was in Cuba collecting data on the ecology of anoles, particularly the community of anoles at Soroa. While at Soroa, I filmed the display of a few species of anoles, including A. homolechis. Anolis homolechis is found in partially shaded forest and has a white dewlap. As shown by the video, the dewlap of A. homolechis appears to “glow.” This effect is so dramatic that the dewlap stands out against the background, giving the impression that it is a light source.


Video of a male Anolis homolechis
   When I showed the above video to Leo, he was so impressed that he suggested that we should evaluate the possibility of “fluorescence”, that is, the short wavelengths striking the dewlap were being absorbed and re-emitted as longer wavelengths, thus giving it the perception of a “light bulb”. To make a long story short, that was not the case, and in the process of testing this idea I learned that although lasers are commonly described as monochromatic they are not. In the majority of the cases laser also emit a longer wave peak.
   This was the end of the potential “fluorescence” effect, but not the end of our quest to understand the mechanism by which dewlaps are able to appear so bright, and if those mechanisms have potential consequences in the ability of the receiver to detect the signal. We conducted a second experiment, showing that light geometry highly contribute to this effect. Below is an illustration of our gadget to test this effect. Basically we simulate the "sun" striking the dewlap from different angles and measured, from the front of the dewlap (reflection) and back of the dewlap (transmission) and measured the radiance spectrum of the dewlap A pdf of the paper entitled "Illumination geometry, detector position and objective determination of animal signal colours in natural light" can be found here. As a side note, this paper is somewhat technical, yet is packed with ideas and a must read for those interested in visual ecology.  
Schematic of our gadget to evaluate the effect of light geometry
on dewlap reflectance and transmission   In a nutshell, dewlaps are quite thin, and not only reflect the light that hits their surfaces, for many dewlaps there is a significant contribution from the light that passes through the dewlap from behind it. This is completely dependent on the light geometry and when transmission is higher than reflection dewlaps tends to appear brighter. But the key finding of our experiment was, that as the light passes through the dewlap the light rays are scattered in all directions from the surface, resulting in a diffuse transmission. This finding allowed us to propose that in order to predict that dewlap coloration under natural conditions both the reflection and transmission spectrum must be measured and that light geometry can be a major contributor to the appearance of a signal.
Male Anolis lineatopus from Jamaica. Note how the dewlap coloration is dominated by light striking the dewlap from the back, that is, the dewlap is scattering the light rays in all directions to appear "translucent"      In this paper we showed that the properties of the dewlap to transmit light and to do so by scattering the light rays in all directions, (i.e., to appear “translucent”) greatly increase the signal to noise ratio. The translucent properties result in a signal that is easy to discriminate against the background, by decreasing the amount of noise present in the signal. The figure below illustrates this effect: NOTE how the volume of the red sphere is reduced when light transmission is included in the calculations of the spectral volume of the dewlap (figure b). Also, note how the dewlap doesn’t overlap with the background coloration. The green sphere represents the background coloration.
Two of the panels of figure 4   If “a picture is worth a thousand words” I encourage you to see the following video (https://youtu.be/errevFcr01k) which is worth at least twice as much; KUDOS to Holly Steinberg for the masterful narration and to Dave Steinberg for the editing.

   As a naturalist I hope this paper illustrates the value of natural history. Moreover, it give you a taste of what I called “Experimental Natural History” when observations of an organism's ecology are examined within a theoretical framework, usually by integrating multiple fields, to yield novel hypotheses. If lucky, those novel hypotheses can open new areas for further studies. In this case, transmission is not limited to dewlaps, other signal structures such as fish fin, insect wings, and feathers are also capable of transmitting light. How important is transmission for the efficacy of those signals remains an open question waiting to be tested.

This post was written by Deborah López Nieves, and the photos are hers.                            Hello everyone! My name is Deborah López Nieves and I am a Natural Sciences student majoring in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla. 
Deborah braves the river rocks for a photo op!Well, the reality is that I thought this was going to be a summer like any other ... but months before, Ph. D student, Ellee Cook gave me the opportunity to work as his assistant for a month in El Verde Field Station.  The best thing about this opportunity was that I would be working doing what I like, that is working with reptiles (specifically A. gundlachi). The reality is that I was nervous all this time, waiting for the arrival of the day. When July 15 came, the adventure began early and the excitement. I went for the first time that day to El Yunque (believe it or not, I've always lived in Puerto Rico and had not been to El Yunque) and in the evening I had the opportunity to know who would be my leader for a month and my partner (Ellee Cook and Karen Patterson).                  The next day began the adventure! Ellee gave us a training on how to recognize a A.gundlachi from the other species and showed us a species I always dreamed of seeing, the A. evermanni (I got excited when I first saw it!). In addition, we were taught to tie knots for our Pole pan fish.  She then proceeded to explain the task we would be working on and the other things we would be doing this month.  The first week and I think part of the second, were captured lizards in 6 different plots. We seized them and Ellee weighed, measured and marked them with a tag (used for marking bees) to finally set them free. These tags helped us to identify the individuals that we would be observing during this month and to know which trees they lived on so then we could record their behavior through observation.  I remember the first day Ellee handed over the observation binoculars so we could identify the color in a long distance and the number of each tag to know what lizard we were looking for. But you know what?! Surprise!!!! Binoculars were not helping and we couldn’t see them! We could’ve been very close or far away and still there was no way we could identify them. I think Ellee thought we did not know how to use the binoculars until she tested them herself. She immediately asked if we could go buy new ones (which became another adventure). We ventured into new sites in search of new binoculars which ended with my car with an empty tire! Besides the flat tire, the important thing was that we got the binoculars and they were good! We practiced for about an hour with the binoculars by using the tags we used on the lizards on a paper we hanged in the wall. The next day we were equipped and ready so we started the observations.
Deborah's favorite plant (or not) - stinging Ortiga!                   During this time we had the opportunity to observe the behavior of both females, males and young ones( A. gundlachi ). There were some gundlachi females with which I grew fond off, because they were the most active and to observe them was an adventure. Some were very territorial, while others were engaged on just eating and watching everything around them. There were babies that made me scream with excitement when they were doing their first push-ups in front of me or when they hunted a tiny spider moving quietly through her web (They were cute!). And how could I forget a female which was almost impossible to catch and mark. Once marked you could not see her and for that reason I named her Houdini (because she always managed to escape when I saw her at a long distance). And guess who I saw in my final days of observation ... Nothing more and nothing less than Houdini. After seeing her, and how well she was I was very happy and relieved so I think I can leave El Verde at peace. Certainly, I think it was one of the most exciting moments during this month.
Deborah found an anchor in the forest!
                  This most definitely is an experience I will always remember as it gave me the opportunity to learn new skills that would help me in my future at university level and to define a little more I want to do in the future. I am very grateful to Ellee for giving me the opportunity to be a part to her team and for teaching me many new things. In addition, I am very grateful for making this summer different from others. I'll miss them.

This post was written by Karen Patterson, and the photo and video are hers.
Hello! My name is Karen and I am a senior biological sciences major from the University of Missouri. I ventured on this excursion with Ellee to study the behavior of female anoles with an emphasis on aggression and territoriality. All I can say is WOW. What a trip this has been! We’ve had our fair share of hurdles to jump but I’ve experienced so much! 
One of Karen's favorite leaves!Up until our arrival, I was having slight difficulties imagining what field research would be like. I had read articles Ellee sent me conveying similar experiments and methods related to what we would be doing, but I couldn’t quite piece it all together to form the big picture. Fortunately, Ellee was very accommodating and eased us into the world that is field research. Day one proved to me that beginner’s luck is real. I caught 14 lizards that day and a wimpy 3 the next. Our first day of data collection began with me being ashamed of not being able to use binoculars correctly…until Ellee asked to borrow mine and quickly reassured me that it was them, not me. This of course led to our fun filled day out in town which a previous blogpost recounts. I found that I enjoyed taking locations of lizards because it was like a game of “I Spy”, or “Where’s Waldo?”. I also confirmed Ellee’s sentiments that lizard watching requires a comfy rock. Surprisingly, there is such a thing…at least for 20 minutes. I learned to eat my lunch without actually touching my food and different ways to reference lizard locations on trees. These included phrases such as “approximately 4 inches below the white spot” or “3 inches above the snail”. Speaking of snails, I discovered I have a slight fascination with them. As Ellee says, I’m probably going to quit my aspirations of attending veterinary school to go get my PhD in snails. On multiple occasions, she would catch me taking time-lapse videos of poor little snails trekking across a branch or sliming across a rock…or me simply taking pictures of them “kissing”. 

One last obsession…leaves. There were some pretty spectacular ones (see photo above). Being out in the field all day is definitely a completely different experience than being behind a microscope in lab. I’ve found that I enjoy aspects of both. The chairs in lab are more comfortable than rocks and I enjoy the mosquito free surroundings. However, unexpected findings in the field are pretty neat…except when they’re spider webs that you find with your face.
My favorite part of this trip so far has been watching a female A. stratulus dig, turn around, squat, lay an egg, and bury it! What incredible timing did we have to witness such an event! I’ve also enjoyed our many trips into town. Whether it was for groceries, eating out for dinner at El Verde BBQ, or walking along the Luquillo Kiosks, I always seemed to experience a different side of Puerto Rico. Shopping at the grocery store enabled me to see familial interactions while eating at El Verde BBQ allowed me to experience real Puerto Rican cuisine. The Luquillo Kiosks were an experience in itself, filled with music, people dancing and the epitome of casual relaxation. Interesting enough, it was my first time seeing people camping on the beach; something that is apparently common around the 4thof July. One major thing I will miss upon arriving back in Columbia is falling asleep to the sounds of the Coqui frogs and other nightlife. While providing difficulty sleeping the first night here, eventually they became a welcomed chorus. Every time I spoke to my parents on the phone, they would comment about how loud they were, even when I was inside! One thing I won’t miss so much…the bugs that come out after it rains! Last night, I starred in my very own horror movie with hundreds of flying insects swarming the apartment with more than a handful making their way inside. After tiring of swatting myself repeatedly, I retreated to the bedroom where none had managed to get in. All in all, this trip has been filled with excitement, learning, and the establishment of new friendships with Deborah and Ellee. I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to learn more about field research, anoles, and Puerto Rico!

We shouldn't be surprised by this anymore, but Manuel Leal is back in the New York Times. This article discusses the talk that Manuel gave at the Animal Behavior Society meeting in Alaska last month. I won't spoil the article for you, but here is a very brief teaser: Manuel and his former graduate student (Brian "Ace" Powell) have been trying to figure out how anoles are able to return home after being artificially displaced. Read the story to learn the MANY different ways they try to solve the mystery!
Job well done, El Jefe.
Have a cafecito on me while out in the forests of the Dominican Republic.

Today, I saw one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen during my 5 summers in the field studying Anolislizards. I watched a female anole lay an egg!!!!
I happened to come across this female while searching for lizards in one of the plots we are using for our study of A. gundlachi females. Through my binoculars, all I noticed at first was that she was an A. stratulus, and not who I was looking for. As I was about to pass over her, she stood over a small divot in the ground and BAM—laid an egg! I was so surprised I just sat there—I’ve never seen this before!
Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me, but of course I had my handy iPhone. When I came to my senses, I scrambled to the ground as gently as possible, and recorded some frames of this female burying her egg. Watch the (poor quality) video below as she repeatedly butts the ground with her snout, and reaches for moist dirt and debris with her feet. At last, she smoothed the earth over the egg, took a deep breath, and hopped back to a Sierra Palm near by. How cool!


We have loved witnessing baby season here in Puerto Rico! We have managed to see juveniles of three anole species, at different stages of growth. Some are so tiny they must just be days old! Unfortunately, many of our photos don’t do their size justice. So, I’ve included a photo with my finger next to a juvenile A. stratulus to give you an idea.


We've started observing the behavior of A. gundlachi juveniles—stay tuned for more pictures and insights into the comings and goings of tiny lizards!

In stark contrast to Ellee’s site at the generally sopping wet El Verde Station in the El Yunque rainforest (mean annual precipitation of roughly 4,000mm) the southwestern region of the island exhibits a xeric climate (Yauco’s annual precipitation barely averages around 1,000mm). And the weather that I’ve experienced since my arrival is no exception. Thanks to the drier weather, the predominant feature in the atmosphere aren't the passing clouds but the murky haze of Saharan dust. That’s right – many folks outside the Caribbean may not know that dust storms originating from the Sahara Desert blow across the Atlantic Ocean and sweep through much of the West Indies. But no worry, the dust does little to hamper the enjoyment in the tropics and commencement of some exciting biological research!
And joining me on my lizard collecting excursions is my good ol’ herpetological compañero, Mel. Mel and I have been friends since we were undergraduates and have gone herping together throughout most of the Puerto Rican Bank. So it can’t get any more convenient for us to go herping while considering it “work.” The general plan: collect lizards for my research by day (and sometimes night) and then collect Red-eyed Coquí calls (Eleutherodactylus antillensis) for his research by night (sometimes very late in the night).
Photographic throwback! Mel and I caught off by this snapshot back in May 2012.
I'm holding up an agitated Puerto Rican Racer (Borikenophis portoricensis) From the start, there hasn’t been a dull moment. The first stop that we made to collect lizards was at the edge of the mountains in Yauco. We arrived at our destination which consisted of a strip of grass and bushes off the side of the road which winded around the mountain. One side of the road was an uphill incline of dense tropical woods surrounding a sloped pasture. On the other side of the road was an equally steep downward slope which revealed a beautiful panorama of the lush forest valley below and huddled green mountains beyond. The leaves rustled rhythmically in the wind that passed through the landscape as green ripples across the mountains’ vegetated surface.
There was a small house nearby and Mel suggested asking the homeowners’ permission to trek through the fields uphill. I was originally just thinking of staying near the road edges, but I figured the more ground we could cover, the better! We politely ‘knocked’ by yelling out “¡Hola, buenas tardes!” as the dogs outside the house had already alerted the entire valley of our presence.
An older woman came out of the house to greet us and we introduced ourselves formally as any field biologist would, courteously explaining why random strangers want to walk around her property in the name of science. The kind woman was more than happy to let us venture into the field and asked us to not mind her vocally expressive canines and her horse inside the field.
And so we walked up this path, surrounded by dense brush, leading to the field of four-foot tall grass. Upon reaching the field in what we thought was a “Pulchellus Paradise,” Mel and I split up and diligently combed the area. Fifteen minutes passed and only Mel spotted one lizard before fleeing out of reach.
As I continued uphill I heard something emerge from the bushes at my peripheral. I saw a mammalian head with pointy ears – it was the owner’s horse. I’ve been around horses before. However, most of my interactions with them involved respecting each other’s personal space, which is what I assumed this horse would prefer. But this horse was not having that. He (and it was definitely a ‘he’) trotted straight toward me with much energy either excited to meet me, extremely curious of me or…was just plain offended that I gave him the cold shoulder? As a herpetologist, I know very little on horse behavior. I comfortably understand some mammals like man’s best friend, but I don’t know how to read a horse. This horse had no shame in nudging his nose at my ear. To keep some distance I petted his long face to assure that I meant no harm. I then attempted to resume lizard-finding, but the horse followed me and insisted that he be the center of my attention. Either I had to initiate contact by petting him, or he had to put his face on mine.
I stopped and pondered on how to handle the situation. I took note of the horse’s large powerful legs, each balancing on solid blocks of keratin that could make human bones act squishy. As the horse started chewing on my pants I thought about how blessed I was to be part of a research team with two lab mates who have substantial experience with horses and are not currently here right now to give me input (Ellee, you’re so close yet so far!)The view of the mountains from my grandparent's porch in Yauco. Despite some cloud cover, the view of the mountains would be much clearer if it wasn't for the Saharan dust. Within those mountains lives a horse with a very assertive personality...to say the least.I tried to walk away again. As I continued, the horse felt the urge to try to push me down with his face. The ground below my feet had very little traction, and it didn’t help that I was at a 50+ degree incline so I couldn’t exactly get away at a faster pace…not that I could outrun a horse…
Mel called out to me from below, half-laughing at the spectacle that I was in. I told Mel that this horse was forbidding me from very important herping. We both decided that I would continue to walk toward the fence while Mel makes various sounds to attract the horse his way. The closer I got the fence, the more aggressive the horse behaved (aggressively excited to play, aggressively sad or angry that I was trying to leave, I have no idea). And I’ll admit that I ate dirt once (Mel says the horse actually did push me down), but the horse actually restrained himself enough to not step on me like a door mat. Finally his attention turned over to Mel and I accelerated to the fence and make it over. 
I followed the edge of the fence downhill meet up with Mel. The horse was right next to him, but on the other side of the fence which, by the way, only consisted of a single strand of barbed wire a foot off the ground. Looking at how easily it would be for the horse to step over the fence, Mel humorously commented in English, “What dumb animals.” Suddenly the horse started jumping in place. We braced ourselves and the horse turned around and galloped across the field out of our sight. We both headed to the path to leading to the road only to see the horse guarding the access to the path, spinning around and hopping. The brush was extremely dense below us and the only way to get on the path was to step back onto the field. “Great,” I thought. “Not only is this horse intelligent but it’s also bilingual.” 
This predicament forced us to find another way to the road, which involved climbing down through the woods which were completely webbed with vines. In the end, we just looked for lizards on the side of the road. And between that site and another outside the town, Guayanilla, we were successful for the day.
And that’s the story of how Eddie decided to avoid checking for lizards in a field with horses for the rest of the trip. Well I have to run more lizards on the racetrack now. ¡Hasta la próxima vez!

Now-a-days when the term “hybrid” is brought up, one thinks of the newer line of automobiles recognized for their fuel economy. Well recently, when I think of hybrids I can’t help but connect the idea to fuel economy as well. Not in cars, however, but lizards!
I’m currently stationed in Yauco, at the southwestern side of Puerto Rico, with the intent of becoming better acquainted with the pure-bred and mitochondrial-hybrid Anolis pulchellus. I chose to set up camp for my field study in Yauco not only because my grandparents reside here and they love to nourish me with seven to eight full course meals every day but also because Yauco is located near the boundary between the two regions that consist entirely of either mitochondrial-hybrid pulchellus to the west and of pure-bred pulchellus to the east.
My grandparents allowed me to convert their backyard shed into a mini-lab under the agreement that they have permission to overfeed me. 

I’m curious as to how the possession of mitochondrial DNA from another species affects the hybrids’ phenotypic traits that are strongly affiliated by a mitochondria’s “fuel economy.”  Are there differences in physiological performance between mitochondrial-hybrid and pure-bred A. pulchellus? For starters, the plan is to capture enough from both groups in order to measure a phenotype, sprint speed. Race track set! From this angle a camcorder is set to record each trial as a lizard sprints to the top towards the black bag. (And no worries - there is a screen over that window)
With A. pulchellus known to be one of the more abundant species on the island, I’m hoping to find plenty of specimens. But as any field biologist can tell you, anything can happen.

Stay tuned!

Next time you read a study involving behavioral observations of animals in the wild, pay close attention to the part of the methods that actually mention those observations. I use “mentions” because I’m willing to bet that you’ll find just one or a few sentences about the process. “We conducted 20 minute focal observations of X number of individuals.” Don’t let these one-liners mislead you. Collecting this type of data is hard work! 
We are busy collecting data on female Anolis gundlachi lizards here in Puerto Rico, and our methods include lots of behavioral observations. Just what does a budding behavioral ecologist need in order to tap into the lives of free-living animals? I’ve already talked a little about this—a comfortable rock is a must. Pencil and paper, a (good!) pair of binoculars, and a fair bit of patience will get you well on your way. But our team is carrying just a little extra. Just check out the contents of Deborah’s field pack!

Once we’re loaded up with everything we need in order to find, watch, and record, we hike to our plots and settle in for a busy day. Deborah and Karen are breaking in our slick new binoculars—turns out this work is more fun when you can actually see the lizards!

 

Fieldwork is an adventure, made all the wilder when it takes place in Puerto Rico.
Today was to be our first day observing the behavior and ecology of female Anolis gundlachilizards. In order to record their natural behavior, we need to be far enough away from the lizards so as not to disturb their activity. This requires a comfortable rock, a heavy dose of patience, and a good pair of binoculars. So, we set off early this morning this morning to start our behavioral observations of female A. gundlachi.
Well, I should say “tratamos probar” (we tried to try). After a few failed attempts to follow individuals, we discovered that some of the binoculars I brought for us to use were no good. So, off to town Deborah, Karen and I went in search of superior binoculars.
As it turns out, the road to finding binoculars on short notice in Puerto Rico is fraught with obstacles. First, few stores in Puerto Rico carry binoculars, apparently. Second, potholes are no fun. We got a flat tire in Carolina. Resourceful Deborah got to changing it only to discover that our spare was also flat!   
 
But, have no fear—we are a hardy team! Five hours later, we have returned to El Verde Field Station with a repaired tire and three brand spanking new pairs of binoculars. Tomorrow is another day, and maybe this time we can actually see the lizards! Vamanos!

One summer just wasn’t enough! I am back at El Verde Field Station in Puerto Rico, finishing off the first full day of Field Season 2015. We spent the day re-acquainting ourselves with the Anolis lizards that call El Verde home. I think they recognized me. 
Meet the awesome new team members gearing up to shed light on the secret lives of female Anolis lizards! Karen is our cooking aficionado, and joins me from the University of Missouri. She is pursuing a degree in Biology, and plans to attend Veterinary school upon graduating. Deborah is our resident expert on Puerto Rico, and is putting me to shame with her lizard spotting skills! She attends the University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla, where she is studying biology. Look out for more from these two—they’ll be sharing their thoughts as our field season progresses!Deborah and Karen enjoying an overcast first day in the field!

Got to run--It's taco night! Stay tuned for more tales from the field!

On Tuesday night, members of the Leal lab constructed our first entry for the annual holiday door-decorating contest hosted by Mizzou Biological Sciences. The lab has an illustrious record in door decorating, and we hope our contribution is up to par! Missouri is a little chilly for us these days, so we took it upon ourselves to add a sprinkle of island paradise to the department’s holiday festivities. There’s no snow, sleigh bells, or stockings, but we did build the 3D beach hut, starry night sky, and palm tree! No word yet from the judges, but we hope Santa appreciates the coconut and cookies we left for him and brings us all we really want for Christmas this year—completed construction on our fantastic new lab!

Fall has arrived at Mizzou, and the campus is bathed in an amazing collection of golden, orange, and red tones. The leaves of the tree behind us, which are a glowing palette of red and orange shades, are a perfect match to my Union College apparel. The building in the background of the photograph is Lefevre Hall, which will serve as "home" for our lizards in the near future. At Lefevre, two walk-in environmental chambers will provide the perfect conditions for keeping the lizards happy and will be the heart of the "CLCBC" Chipojo Lab Cognition Behavioral Center.Brisk weather and amazing shades of reds
Manuel, Ellee and Eduardo