A comparison of evolutionary radiations in mainland and Caribbean Anolis lizards

Comparisons between closely related radiations in different environments provide a unique window into understanding how abiotic and biotic factors shape evolutionary pathways. Anolis lizards have radiated extensively in the West Indies, as well as mainland Central and South America. In the Caribbean, similar communities of anole species specialized for different habitats (ecomorphs) have evolved independently on each Greater Antillean island. We examined ecological and morphological data on 49 Anolis species (33 Caribbean, 16 mainland) to investigate whether the same set of ecomorphs has arisen in mainland regions. More generally, we investigated whether the relationship between ecology and morphology was similar among anoles in the two regions. Radiations in the two regions are very different. The majority of mainland anole species exhibit morphological characteristics unlike any Caribbean ecomorph. Furthermore, relationships between ecology and morphology are very different between the two sets of anole species. Among mainland anole species, toepad size is positively correlated with perch height, whereas tail length is negatively related to perch diameter. In contrast, among Caribbean anole species, both forelimb length and body mass are positively associated with perch diameter, and both tail length and hindlimb length are negatively related to perch diameter. Biomechanical considerations provide a functional basis for some of these correlations, but much variation remains to be explained. These findings demonstrate that factors that caused anole species to converge repeatedly in the West Indies are not present in mainland regions, and that environmental factors can strongly influence the shape of evolutionary radiations.