What drives the color change in green anoles?

Princeton High School
Princeton, New Jersey
BiologyEcology
DOI: 10.18258/14307
$1,464
Raised of $1,450 Goal
100%
Funded on 11/01/19
Successfully Funded
  • $1,464
    pledged
  • 100%
    funded
  • Funded
    on 11/01/19

Discussion

Join the conversation!Sign In
  • Carolina Esquivel
    Carolina Esquivel
    I hope you can consider this note I wrote :) Esquivel, C., and F. Vargas-Acuña. 2017. Norops biporcatus (Wiegmann, 1834). Color change during foraging. Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(1): 177–178
    Jul 09, 2020
  • Clarke Atkins
    Clarke AtkinsBacker
    I love your proposal. I have a couple of questions for you. Is it known that the red disk will cause stress to the anole (previous studies)? Would it be of interest to do a color examination while the anoles are sleeping. My anole is almost always brown when sleeping (at least in the morning before heat lamp turns on). I am not suggesting that you do this, as your design is in place, but what about the ambient temperature's effect on color? This would be a pretty easy, reproducible study to do, if it is not already known. Thanks for your efforts on this interesting project.
    Oct 14, 2019
  • Victoria Pagano
    Victoria PaganoResearcher
    There have not been previous studies investigating whether red causes stress, but the color of the Green Anoles dewlap is red. Often times, when males extend their dewlap during aggressive displays, this results in the formation of an eyespot in both anoles. Eye spots are a well known indicator of stress in anoles, hence the red on the disk should replicate the stress an anole would feel if receiving an aggressive display from another anole. Even despite the color, a large disk moving quickly towards the anole is sure to stress the lizard, as they dislike sudden movements towards them (it is likely similar to what they experience when being attacked by a predator). It is not of interest to do a color examination while the anoles are sleeping, because I would only be able to test color and not stress (otherwise they would not be sleeping). In addition, the thermoregulation hypothesis would not be able to be tested because there would not be light levels to influence (the lights would need to be off if they are sleeping). The ambient temperature will remain constant, and is not a factor when testing either hypothesis. Thank you for your interest in my project and all of your support! If I did not answer all of your questions, please feel free to comment again.
    Oct 14, 2019