Name ____Oyinda Adeyemo_______Date ___03/07/2021____
LAB EXERCISE 5:
Lizard Evolution Virtual Lab
Answer the following questions as you finish each module of the 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?
I based my criteria on the colors of the lizards.
2.Did you revise your criteria later? Why?
I revised my criteria later. I ended up choosing the size of the lizard’s legs. I chose this
criteria because each lizard have evolved their legs/ limbs based on their habitat.
3.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 an adaptation in the Anolis lizard.
One adaptation is the toepads on the A. evermanni Puerto Rico. The toepad allows
the lizard grip on the leafs of trees as it walks on it.
4.Provide one evolutionary explanation for why lizards living in the same part of
the
habitat (i.e., the grass) would have similar characteristics.
Lizards in the same habitat have similar characteristics because they either share a
common ancestor or need similar features to survive in the same habitat.
5.What is an ecomorph? Provide one example from the virtual lab.
Do lizards of the same body type tend to be more closely related to one another than to lizards of different body types?
DNA sequencing data indicates that lizards on each island tend to be more closely related to each other than to similar species on other islands, indicating that the same types of anoles evolved independently on different islands.
Are lizard species with the same ecomorph more closely related to each other than they are to other species?
The DNA evidence suggests that species from the same island are more closely related than are species from the same ecomorph group. This finding supports the hypothesis that most of the lizards on each island evolved independently, in a process of convergent evolution, although there are exceptions. 6.
What does the evidence suggest regarding the evolution of body types of anole lizards on the different islands?
DNA evidence suggests that the different lizard body types (twig, grass, etc.) evolved independently on each of the four large Caribbean islands. An anole lizard with a light-colored dewlap will develop a darker dewlap that stands out better in a bright environment.
Do you predict that lizards from the two populations would still mate and reproduce?
The lizards from the two populations, both short legged and long legged will still mate and reproduce because the lizards are still of the same species and because it will increase their species chances of survival. Anolis cristatellus and A. cooki are both trunk-ground anoles that live on Puerto Rico.