RAPID: Testing for hurricane-induced natural selection that reverses the direction of morphological adaptation in Anolis lizards

飓风是一种极端天气事件，由于全球气温上升，预计其频率和强度都会增加。这些强烈的风暴可能会对生活在飓风路径上的脆弱群体中的生物体产生强烈的自然选择。这项研究的目的是确定飓风是否是作用于蜥蜴形态的自然选择的来源，有利于四肢较长的蜥蜴在大风中更好地附着在植被上。为了验证这一假设，这项工作将研究在飓风厄玛期间经历飓风强风的变色蜥蜴种群。它将确定飓风前后蜥蜴的形态是否有差异，以及这是否会导致下一代的进化反应。这项研究将有助于确定飓风等极端天气事件是否可以成为进化变化的来源。了解极端事件的后果，以便更好地管理和预测脆弱人口和社区的持续模式，这一点至关重要，本项目的目标是确定飓风强度的风是否是对阿诺利斯蜥蜴形态的自然选择的来源。在正常时期，选择有利于较短的肢体，以加强运动在狭窄的植被。生物力学研究表明，四肢相对较长的蜥蜴在宽阔的地面上跑得更快，而四肢相对较短的蜥蜴在狭窄的表面上移动得更熟练。然而，在飓风期间，表现的相关方面变成了依附，而不是奔跑，选择应该有利于更长的四肢，以便在大风期间具有更好的依附能力。四肢较长的蜥蜴可以更容易地将它们缠绕在植被上，这在附着时会产生更大的力量，并且可以更好地抵消飓风期间强风产生的力量。在飓风厄玛之后，预计安诺利斯蜥蜴种群的平均肢体长度会更长，肢体较长的蜥蜴个体的存活率会更高。在飓风过后的这段时间里，四肢较短的蜥蜴个体会生存得更好，因为自然选择会偏爱那些更适合运动表现的形态。通过结合标记重捕和遗传分析，本研究将评估形态变化，估计选择，并确定跨代选择的反应。我们的目标是了解飓风是否扭转了蜥蜴的肢体长度的选择方向，通过改变生物力学功能的选择模式，从选择更适合在狭窄表面上航行的短肢体到选择更适合在大风下附着在相同基质上的较长肢体。

Hurricanes are extreme weather events that are predicted to increase in frequency and magnitude because of increasing global temperatures. These intense storms may result in strong natural selection for organisms living in vulnerable populations in the path of the hurricane. The goal of this research is to determine whether hurricanes are a source of natural selection acting on the morphology of lizards, favoring lizards with longer limbs to better cling to vegetation during high winds. To test this hypothesis, this work will study anole lizard populations that experienced hurricane-force winds during Hurricane Irma. It will determine whether lizard morphology differed before and after the hurricane and if this results in an evolutionary response in the next generation. This research will help to establish whether extreme weather events like hurricanes can be a source of evolutionary change. It is critically important to understand the consequences of extreme events to better manage and predict patterns of persistence for vulnerable populations and communities.The objective of this project is to determine whether hurricane-force winds are a source of natural selection on the morphology of Anolis lizards. During normal periods, selection favors shorter limbs to enhance locomotion on narrow vegetation. Biomechanical studies show lizards with relatively longer limbs run faster on broad substrates, whereas lizards with shorter limbs for a given body size move more adeptly on narrow surfaces. However, during hurricanes, the relevant aspect of performance becomes clinging,instead of running, and selection should favor longer limbs for better clinging ability during high winds. Lizards with longer limbs can more easily wrap them around vegetation, which generates more force when clinging and should better counteract the forces generated by strong winds during hurricanes. Immediately after Hurricane Irma, Anolis lizard populations are predicted to have longer mean limb lengths and higher survival for individual lizards with longer limbs. During the post-hurricane period, individual lizards with shorter limbs will survive better because selection will favor morphology better suited for locomotor performance. By combining mark-recapture and genetic analyses, this study will evaluate morphological shifts, estimate selection, and determine the cross-generational response to selection. The goal is to understand whether hurricanes reverse the direction of selection on the limb length of lizards by changing patterns of selection on biomechanical function, from selection for short limbs that are better suited biomechanically for navigation on narrow surfaces to selection for longer limbs that are better for clinging on the same substrates under high winds.