2008/03/14 by Anthony Herrel, Katleen Huyghe, Bieke Vanhooydonck +5 · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Species Distribution and Climate Change
paper · doi:10.1073/pnas.0711998105
openalex publication_date 2008/03/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Although rapid adaptive changes in morphology on ecological time scales are now well documented in natural populations, the effects of such changes on whole-organism performance capacity and the consequences on ecological dynamics at the population level are often unclear. Here we show how lizards have rapidly evolved differences in head morphology, bite strength, and digestive tract structure after experimental introduction into a novel environment. Despite the short time scale ( approximately 36 years) since this introduction, these changes in morphology and performance parallel those typically documented among species and even families of lizards in both the type and extent of their specialization. Moreover, these changes have occurred side-by-side with dramatic changes in population density and social structure, providing a compelling example of how the invasion of a novel habitat can evolutionarily drive multiple aspects of the phenotype.