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Lara's Favorite Species: The Green Anole

Florida's native green anole (pronounced "uh-nole"), Anolis carolinensis, is Lara's favorite species in all of Florida! In this episode of Naturally Florida, we'll be chatting about what makes the green anole so special and about their nonnative look-alike, the brown anole (Anolis sagrei).

Episode Transcript:

SHANNON:

Welcome to “Naturally Florida." Thanks for joining us today. On today's episode you're going to hear all about the green anole and the brown anole. The green anole is Lara’s favorite wildlife species in Florida. And who knew there was so much to love about such a tiny little lizard? So thanks for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

LARA:
Welcome to “Naturally Florida,” a podcast about Florida's natural areas and the wild things that live here. I'm Lara Milligan.

SHANNON:
And I'm Shannon Carnevale.

LARA:
This podcast is brought to you by UF IFAS Extension in Polk and Pinellas Counties.

SHANNON:
So Lara and I were talking the other day about all the different wildlife that we have in Florida, and we were talking about what our favorite species is. And Lara had a surprising response to me. I thought it was a little surprising. So, Lara, what is it? Go ahead. What is your favorite species in Florida?

LARA:
Hands-down my favorite species is the green anole.

SHANNON:
That little tiny lizard.

LARA:
Yes, I just think they're the cutest lizard ever! And they're this beautiful, beautiful green. And it's the only native species of the Anole genus, if you want to go there, that we have in Florida. (LAUGHTER) So I just think they're special and unique, and I just love the way they look at you and all the things.

SHANNON:
I had heard once that they were referred to historically as Florida's chameleon. Do they have chameleon properties?

LARA:
That's a great question. And that is often what they are referred to because they do have the ability to change colors, which is another reason I think they're awesome. They change colors for a variety of reasons. They can be this beautiful bright green and then they can go kind of this light brown color. It can get a little dark, but it tends to be more of a light brown.

SHANNON:
Like a tan?

LARA:
Yeah. Yeah. That's a great way to describe it. And they can use it to either camouflage to their background, and they also change color in response to temperature. And also just different emotions if they're defending their territory or trying to attract a mate. In general, though, they say “Brown is down.” (LAUGHTER) So like if they're cold, they tend to be brown. Or if they lost a fight they’ll turn brown. (LAUGHTER) I know, but yeah, it's a really cool feature, but they're not true chameleons. So it's kind of a misnomer there.

SHANNON:
Gotcha.

LARA:
It's a really cool feature that they have that another species which we'll bring up in here does not have the capability to do.

SHANNON:
So I think you are reading my mind. (LAUGHTER) But when you said that the green anole can turn brown, my first thought is the seemingly hundreds of brown anole lizards that I have in my backyard. So how can we tell the difference between them?

LARA:
Yeah, that's a great question. And a lot of people don't even know that we have a green anole. And perhaps some people have never seen a green anole because the brown anole is the most abundant lizard species that we have in the state. Yeah, it’s a non-native species, but unlike the green anole, the brown anole does not have the capability to change colors. So they're always brown. They can vary quite a bit to almost to the point where they look black.

SHANNON:
Yes. I've got some of those in my backyard. They're super, super dark.

LARA:
Yes. And the main way to tell them apart, so the green anole has a white chin. So regardless of their green phase or brown, they have a very distinct white chin. That's probably one of the key things you can look for. And then in general, they're just more slender, have a little bit more of a pointed snout than the brown anole. And I know this isn't a true characteristic, but to me, the brown anoles don't look as nice and friendly as the green anoles. (LAUGHTER)

SHANNON:
I know exactly what you're saying, because I say the same thing about a lot of our snake species. If you look at them enough, you start to feel like some of them look friendly and some of them look a little bit less friendly. Yes, that makes sense to me. But the green anole, do they, I feel like I saw a picture the other day where they almost had a little blue patch near their eye. Is that all of them or just some very lucky individuals with makeup on?

LARA:
(LAUGHS) That’s funny. We actually call it in-house, the in-house term is eye shadow. We say, “Oh, look at the beautiful blue eye shadow they have on!” (LAUGHTER) Yeah, that is another somewhat distinguishing characteristic. The brown anoles do not have the makeup on. And it tends to fade when they change color to brown. Yeah. Their coloration will, you know, even when they're changing colors to brown, you know, they can still have hints of green. And it doesn't happen instantaneously, so it can vary quite a bit. But yes, the blue is quite striking sometimes.

SHANNON:
Yeah, it's very pretty. So, Lara, a question that I get asked a lot is about that thing that sticks out from all of our little anoles’ necks and it looks like they're dancing when they do it. (LAUGHTER) Can you tell us a little bit about that?

LARA:
Yeah, so it has a term, it's called a “dewlap.” It's actually not all of them have a dewlap, they’re mostly associated with males. Some females can have a dewlap, but they tend not to be nearly as large and, depending on your perspective, pretty as the males. It is a feature like I said, associated with the male anoles, both the brown and the green.

But it's used for two primary purposes. One is to attract the ladies. The other is to kind of puff up and show off to defend their territory against other males. The dewlap on the green anole tends to be whitish or pink, or some combination of the two. Another distinguishing characteristic, if we do get to see the dewlap on the brown anole, it tends to be more red and has a distinct kind of like yellowish white outline to it.

SHANNON:
Okay. I think I've seen that before. I know what you're talking about. So if they do their dewlap and their little dance, I hope you don't mind that I’m calling it a dance…(LAUGHS)
LARA:
No, I can go with that.

SHANNON:
Would that explain why I might see them climb up to the top of my patio furniture to do their pushups and show off their dewlap?

LARA:
For sure. Yeah. They're doing their best to put on their display to show they are boss of that particular area. (LAUGHTER) Yeah. So we say they do their pushups and they’ll, you know, push their dewlap in and out. It's actually, it's part of what they call the hyoid bone. It's kind of like a bow and arrow. So they'll push that out, and that's what displays the dewlap, and then it will retract back in. And they can do that as many times as they would like. And yeah.

SHANNON:
Sometimes all day.

LARA:
(LAUGHS) Yeah. Yes. And yeah, there's lots of really cool information around why and how they use their dewlap. And males defending their territory in general, there’s research that shows the larger the green anole, the larger their territory. And also because they have a larger territory, they tend to mate with more females. So they'll probably be doing that dance, as you call it, more often in that case.

SHANNON:
Gotcha. Well, that makes a lot of sense. And like you mentioned, with research on animal behavior, it's hard to know why they do what they do sometimes, but it's nice to try and understand the purpose of these displays that we see. So that brings me back to something that you mentioned at the beginning of the episode, Lara. You had said that the green anole is native to Florida but that the brown anole was a non-native species.

For our listeners who might not know the difference between those two terms, a native species is simply one that evolved in that given area that you're talking about. But a non-native species evolved in a different geographic area and was somehow, either intentionally or unintentionally, introduced to this new area. So in this case, the green anole evolved in Florida. The brown anole evolved somewhere else and was introduced to Florida. Lara, do you know how the brown anole was introduced?

LARA:
Yeah. So the research that I have seen on the Cuban, sometimes we call it the Cuban or brown anole, so hence that other common name was introduced from Cuba. And most have, I guess, associated the introduction with shipping and ports, which we have many of in Florida. And so it was one of those non-intentional introductions. They just made their way here on ships and took advantage of the environment that we have here in Florida and were able to thrive and survive.
SHANNON:
Yeah, there is a difference between a non-native species being introduced and a non-native species being introduced and then expanding its range and reproducing like the brown anole quite obviously has.

LARA:
Yeah. And it was actually really interesting when I was doing my research for this podcast. When I would look at older research, it was referring to the green anole as being the lizard that you would see in your yard. And I think for most of Florida today, that would for sure be the brown anole.

SHANNON:
Yeah. How times have changed.

LARA:
Yes.

SHANNON:
Which brings us to a great point when we're talking about wildlife species and actually all of Florida ecosystems. Change is a part of the game.

LARA:
For sure. Yeah. And I think that, again, is going to be something you hear continuously in our podcast episodes. And it's just, again, part of ecosystems are dynamic. And especially when we add in this component of non-native species and the impacts of those to our native ecosystems, it's a challenge. So we just got to use the best available science of the time.

SHANNON:
Yeah, because those introductions, they can have some really unpredictable responses in the ecosystem. But the brown anoles, I think you said they've been here since about when, the 40s?

LARA:
Yeah, I've seen different numbers but somewhere between 1940s and 1950s is when they’re claimed to be introduced to the state. So they've been here a really long time to the point they're so well-established now that there’s no current efforts or anything to eradicate the brown anole. And, yeah, the green anoles have fortunately been able to adapt and evolve to coexist with the brown anoles.

SHANNON:
Can you tell us a little bit more about that? I know in my backyard I do have green anoles, but they are definitely outnumbered by brown anoles by far. But I do have them. I see them every now and then. They tend to be near my citrus and avocado trees.

LARA:
Yeah. And that would be pretty accurate. And so kind of the shift that researchers have seen with the introduction of the brown anole is that green anoles have shifted up higher, what they call their “perch height” or higher. So they've moved higher up into the vegetation to escape and establish kind of their own, I guess “arboreal,” if you want to call it that, territory.

And so you'll tend to find the brown anoles more on the ground and green anoles in lower to high level vegetation. So that's kind of one way that they have shifted because their prey otherwise is, you know, very similar. They would compete otherwise. And so they've adapted in that way by shifting where they coexist.

SHANNON:
A good way for the general public to remember where each species is in their backyard or in the ecosystem would be that the green anole is more similar to tree leaves. And the brown anole is more similar to the tree's bark, so they're closer to the ground. That might be a good way for our listeners to remember which one is which.

LARA:
There you go. Yeah. And it's similar, I thought you were going to go with that leaves that are on the ground are brown. So either way.

SHANNON:
(LAUGHS) Either one works. But did I hear you say that they eat the same things?

LARA:
Yeah. So their diet is very similar, which was kind of a main call for concern for researchers when the brown anole came in because they were seeing that many have the same diet and now they're occupying the same areas and territory.

SHANNON:
So they're competing.

LARA:
Yeah, the green anole has adapted and some of the latest research even showed that what we call the toe pads on the feet of the green anole have adapted to better climbing ability.

SHANNON:
That makes sense.

LARA:
Yeah. Yeah. It's very, very interesting.

SHANNON:
So does that mean that their toe pads are stickier or that they can grip smaller twigs?
LARA:
Yeah, it gives them, stickier would be a good way to describe it. So they're able to kind of cling on to smoother bark and just adapt to being higher up and in the vegetation.

SHANNON:
If I was changing the landscaping in my backyard, is there anything I could do to help the green anole?

LARA:
That's a great question. So in general, you know, providing invertebrates, insects, bugs, probably what people don't want to attract to their yard…(LAUGHTER)

SHANNON:
But they might already have those things.

LARA:
That's right. But generally speaking, denser vegetation, the research has shown that if they have kind of that seclusion and shelter, it gives them an opportunity to hide from the brown anoles. It gives them a little more shelter and protection. And then, of course, it's going to provide that food source there as well with the insects that occupy the dense vegetation. And of course, the other species will take advantage of that as well.

SHANNON:
And it also sounds like having small—well, what we would call small trees—or tall shrubs might also be helpful to give them that elevated area to go into as well.

LARA:
Yeah, yeah, definitely. We call it, you know, diversifying your vertical layering, if you will, for having different types of vegetation. Fortunately or unfortunately, the brown anole and the green anole can both adapt really well. And so like you alluded to before, your porch furniture, they’ll really utilize any substrate that's around to get to the elevation that they need.

But obviously, if we can provide vegetation, that's not only going to benefit these species, but many others as well.

SHANNON:
That's good to hear that there's something we can do because, first of all, they're your favorite animal. (LAUGHTER) But also they're just so cute. Even the brown ones, I will admit, I love watching them run around my backyard. I love the idea that they are eating the insects that I am less than thrilled to have on my porch. So I can see the benefits of both of the species.

LARA:
Yeah, they're beneficial pest controllers.

SHANNON:
Yes. That's a great way to put it: all-natural pest control. Maybe not all natives, but…

LARA:
Right.

SHANNON:
Anyway, so I think that's been a great summary of the green anole. and why you think it's your favorite species. Is there anything else about the green anole that you think people need to know?

LARA:
Yeah, I do think the fact that they are one of the few native lizard species that we have, especially as we continue to get more and more non-native lizards entering Florida. You know, there's the number of non-native lizard species outnumbers our native species. So I think it's just, you know, they're unique. They're the only anole species that's native to Florida.

They're a beautiful green. Again, it's kind of the way they turn their head like a little puppy dog when they look at you. (LAUGHTER) So I don't know. I just love them. If I can make somebody else love them just as a result of listening to this podcast then.

SHANNON:
And it's exciting when you see one because they're not super common like they used to be, like the research you found shows. So when you see one, there's perfect like perfectly good reason to be excited about it. Snap a picture of it, share it on iNaturalist. Tell the world (LAUGHTER) that we still have green anoles and that they're super cool and everyone should learn about them.

SHANNON:
So with that, Lara, is there anything else you want us to talk about before we put a wrap on this episode?

LARA:
No, I think that's it. And we'll include some additional resources and links to the research that we referenced in our show notes. And I have a super short YouTube video that highlights the differences between the green anole and the brown anole, we can link in there if you're more of a visual learner. So we'll definitely be sure to include that.

And yeah, I look forward to our next episode.

SHANNON:
With that I'd like to thank everyone for tuning into this episode of “Naturally Florida" to learn all about Lara's favorite species, the green anole.

Thanks for listening to “Naturally Florida,” a podcast about Florida's natural areas and the wild things that live here. Stay updated on new episodes by subscribing on your favorite podcast platform. If you enjoyed today's episode, consider sharing it with a friend. “Naturally Florida” is produced by your hosts Shannon Carnevale

LARA:
and Lara Milligan.

SHANNON:
If you have questions or suggestions, submit them online at naturallyfloridapodcast.com. This podcast is brought to you by the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension, an Equal Opportunity Institution. Thank you for listening.

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