24 Jun LIZARD EVOLUTION VIRTUAL LAB
Question
LIZARD EVOLUTION VIRTUAL LAB
Answer the following questions as you finish each module of the virtual lab or as a final assessment
after completing the entire virtual lab.
Module 1: Ecomorphs
1. At the beginning of the virtual lab, you were asked to sort eight lizards into categories. What criteria did you
initially use to make your groups? Did you revise your criteria later? Why? Their color and the body length
2. An adaptation is a structure or function that is common in a population because it enhances the ability to
survive and reproduce in a particular environment. Provide one example and an explanation of one adaptation
in the
Anolis lizards.
3. Provide one evolutionary explanation for why lizards living in the same part of the habitat (i.e., grass) would have
similar characteristics.
4. What is an ecomorph? Provide one example from the virtual lab.
species with the same structural habitat/niche,
similar in morphology and behavior, but not necessarily close phyletically
5. How is an ecomorph different from a species?
An ecomorph is different from a species because ecomorphs on different islands may be distantly related
with the same morphology, in a species, all no matter what island they are on, they are all very closely
related.
6. Explain how a particular body feature of one of the lizard ecomorphs from the virtual lab is an adaptation to
their particular niche.
The anolis lizard has a longer hind leg in some islands to better help them jump and spring from
place to place, but “twig” anolis have smaller legs but bigger toe pads to better help them cling on to
things
Module 2: Phylogeny
1. In module 1, you identified which species of lizards were most similar to one another based on relative limb
length and toe pad size. In this module, you determined which lizards are more similar to one another
based on what type of information?habitats and environment
Based on their ancestors instead of their physical traits
2. Are the species of lizard that are more similar to one another according to body type also more closely
related based on the results obtained in this module?
No, the species of lizard that are more similar to one another according to body type are not closely related
based on the results obtained in this module
3. The figures below show two phylogenetic trees similar to the one you constructed in the virtual lab but with
more lizards. The trees below show the evolutionary relationships among species from four ecomorphs from
the four largest Caribbean islands.
Figure 1.
Phylogeny of anole lizards on
four of the major Caribbean islands
color
‐coded according to
geographical distribution. Light dotted
line, Puerto Rico; small dashed line,
Cuba; large dashed line, Hispaniola;
and solid line, Jamaica.
Figure 2.
Phylogeny of anole lizards in
the four major Caribbean islands
colored in according to ecomorph. Light
dotted line, twig; small dashed line,
trunk
‐ground; large dashed line,
trunk
‐ crown; solid line, grass
‐bus.
What conclusion can you draw about the evolution of the
Anolis
lizards based on these figures?
I can conclude that the geographic isolation was the cause for there to be 3 different species that are not
common to any other land site
4. What is convergent evolution? Use evidence from the trees to explain how the
Anolis lizards are an example
of this concept.
Convergent evolution is species that don’t derive from one another buthave common
characteristics based off of their adaptations
Module 3: Experimental Data
1. In Dr. Losos experiment, why was it important that the experimental islands lacked lizards?
2. Dr. Losos data suggest that after only a few generations, the lizards on the experimental islands have
shorter legs on average than the lizards on the larger island. Explain how the data you collected either
supports or does not support this claim.
3. Based on what you know about the experimental islands and the lizards that were placed on these islands,
explain how and why the average leg length of the population might change over time. Include the concept
of natural selection in your discussion.
4. If the population from one of the experimental islands was reintroduced on the original island, do you
predict that lizards from the two populations would still mate and reproduce? Justify your answer with
scientific arguments.
Module 4: Dewlap Colors
1.
Anolis cristatellus A. cooki
and
are both trunk
‐ground anoles that live on Puerto Rico.
A. cristatellus
lives in
a shady, forest environment, while
A. cooki
lives in an open, sunny environment. What is an adaptive
explanation for why the dewlap of one species evolved to be brighter and that of another species darker?
2. From the bar graph generated in the virtual lab (see below), how do the dewlap colors of the two species
compare?
3. How would you determine whether the difference between the two populations is statistically significant?
4. If a species of anoles with dark dewlaps colonized a heavily forested island, predict what would happen over
time to the color of the dewlap. Using your knowledge of natural selection and genetics, explain your
prediction.
Extension Questions
1. To minimize interspecific competition, organisms often divide the limited available resources in an area,
a concept called “resource partitioning.” As an example of this concept, the figure
below illustrates how different species of warblers utilize different portions of an individual tree.
Figure 3.
Different species of North
American warblers live in different
parts of the same trees. The
shaded areas indicate the habitats
each warbler species occupies.
2. Explain how the different species of anoles on an island demonstrate “resource partitioning”
similar to the warblers in the figure.
3. Explain how resource partitioning can promote long
‐term coexistence of competing species, thus
increasing biodiversity.
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