LizardsEvoTree StudentHO Film

The Origin of Species:
Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree Film Guide

Student Handout
NAME_______________________ DATE_________________
This handout supplements the short film The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree.
1. Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola have species of anole lizards with distinct body types, including
the grass lizards, which have long tails; the canopy lizards, which have large toe pads; and the twig lizards,
which have short legs. Anole species with each of these three body types exist on each of the four islands.
The phylogenetic trees in the figure below illustrate two hypotheses for how these types of lizards may have
evolved.
a. Select the pair of statements in the table below that accurately describe the phylogenetic trees in the
figure above: _________
Tree on the Left Side of the Figure Tree on the Right Side of the Figure
A The twig lizard on Puerto Rico evolved first The twig lizard evolved first on all of the islands, and then
and is the ancestor of all the other lizards. the canopy and grass lizards evolved from the twig lizard.
B Body types evolved repeatedly and Different body types evolved once, and then populations
independently on each island. of individuals with those body types ended up on different
islands.
C Different body types evolved only once, and There are two ancestors to all the lizards, the twig lizard
then populations of individuals with those and the canopy lizard.
body types ended up on different islands.
D Puerto Rico is the origin of all three lizard Each body type evolved repeatedly and independently on
body types. each island.
The Origin of Species Revised March 2018

www.BioInteractive.org Page 1 of 5
Film Guide
The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree Student Handout
b. Select which tree in the figure illustrates the most likely hypothesis for how the different species of
anole lizards evolved on the Caribbean islands according to the film:
_____ the tree on the left _____ the tree on the right
c. Using evidence presented in the film, explain the reasoning behind your answer in the question above
(Part b).
2. Over many generations, natural selection favors those traits that enable populations to live successfully in a
particular habitat. A scientist discovered two species of anole lizards that live in different habitats and
display the characteristics listed in the table below. (The scientists based these observations on a sample of
20 lizards from each species.)
Observations of Two Species of Anoles

Species A B
Habitat High trunks and branches Lower trunk and ground
Body length 130-191 mm 55-79 mm
Limb length Short Long
Toe-pad size Large Intermediate
Color Green Brown
Tail length Long Long
a. Describe two differences between the two species of anoles.
b. Formulate two hypotheses to explain why each of these differences may have evolved.
c. Describe an experiment that would test one of your hypotheses stated above.

Film Guide
3. Two organisms are considered to belong to different species if they __________
a. have differences in appearance, such as different color or leg length.
b. live in different geographical areas, such as on different islands.
c. do not mate or produce fertile offspring.
d. eat entirely different types of foods.
4. In the film, you saw Jonathan Losos place a male and female trunk-ground anole on an island that did not
have any trees but had short grass and shrubs. Losos and colleagues visited the island the following year.
What had happened? _______
a. The two anoles died because there were no trees for them to live in.
b. The two anoles reproduced and their offspring adapted to living in bushes.
c. The legs of the two anoles got shorter and their offspring inherited shorter legs.
d. The two anoles reproduced and there were no significant differences in traits from one generation to
the next.
5. Which statement best explains why islands can be used as natural laboratories? ________
a. The climate among islands varies from very wet to very dry.
b. Islands are smaller in size than the mainland, so in that sense they are like a laboratory.
c. The islands have similar habitats, but they differ from the mainland habitat.
d. There are many small islands, meaning researchers can repeat their observations and experiments on
several similar islands.
6. Describe the similarities and differences between the terms microevolution and macroevolution.
7. List two lines of evidence that Jonathan Losos has gathered through observation and experimentation that
support the theory of natural selection developed by Charles Darwin.

Film Guide
Use the following information and figure to answer Questions 8-9.
In 2003, Jonathan Losos and his research team experimentally introduced curly-tailed lizards (Leiocephalus
carinatus) to islands populated by trunk-ground anoles that live primarily on the ground and have relatively long
legs (Losos, J. B., T. W. Schoener, and D. A. Spiller. 2004. Predator-induced behaviour shifts and natural selection
in field-experimental lizard populations. Nature 432: 505-508). The scientists wanted to know how the presence
of the curly-tailed lizards, which are anole predators, would affect the habitat in which the anoles lived.
In one experiment, Losos and colleagues

measured the “perch height” (or how high
off the ground a lizard was perched) for 24
individual anoles. They then placed either a
curly-tailed lizard (experimental population)
or an inanimate object of the same size
(control population) in front of individual
trunk-ground anoles and measured the
perch height 10 minutes later. They then
calculated the average change in the anole’s
perch height in the experimental and control
populations. The results of this experiment
are summarized in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Mean change in perch height (±1 standard error) 10
minutes after introduction of either a large predatory lizard
(experimental) or an inanimate object of the same size (control).
(Image reproduced with permission from Losos, J. B., T. W.
Schoener, and D. A. Spiller. 2004. Nature 432: 505-508.)
8. Based on the information above, what research question did the scientists ask that led to this experiment?
9. Using the information in Figure 1, describe the results of the experiment.

Film Guide
Use the following information and figure to answer Questions 10-12.
In another experiment, the scientists left the curly-tailed lizards on the islands for several weeks. They counted
the number of anoles living on the ground at the beginning of the experiment in May and then again in July and
November. The figure below shows the percentage of anoles living on the ground on islands with curly-tailed
lizards (experimental population) and without curly-tailed lizards (control population).
Figure 2. Differences in proportions

of anoles observed on the ground in
experimental and control
populations. Values are mean and ±1
standard error of the mean for all 12
islands. Only four islands were
surveyed in July. (Image reproduced
with permission from Losos, J. B., T.
W. Schoener, and D. A. Spiller. 2004.
Nature 432: 505-508.)
10. Based on the information above, what research question did the scientists ask that led to this experiment?
11. Using the information in Figure 2, describe the results of the experiment.
12. Provide a scientific explanation for the results of the two experiments summarized in Figures 1 and 2. (Hint:
Imagine that you are one of the anoles in each experiment.)
13. If the curly-tailed lizards were left on the islands for several years, predict how the bodies of the trunk-
ground anoles might change after many generations of living in the presence of curly-tailed lizards.


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How did the different species of anole lizards evolve on the Caribbean islands according to the film?

What research question did the scientists ask that led to the experiment summarized in Figure 1?

The Origin of Species:

Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree Film Guide

The Origin of Species Revised March 2018

anole lizards evolved on the Caribbean islands according to the film:

Observations of Two Species of Anoles

a. Describe two differences between the two species of anoles.

The Origin of Species Revised March 2018

The Origin of Species Revised March 2018

In one experiment, Losos and colleagues

9. Using the information in Figure 1, describe the results of the experiment.

The Origin of Species Revised March 2018

Figure 2. Differences in proportions

The Origin of Species Revised March 2018

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