Natural selection in a hurricane: The lizards that won't let go

Hurricanes can be deadly to plants, people and animals caught in their paths. The idea that such destructive events could drive natural selection is controversial. Now, new research on Caribbean lizards seems to suggest that recent hurricanes have selected for certain traits. These traits could help them cope with high wind speeds and might even be advantageous enough to influence their evolution. Find out more in this Nature Video.

25 July 2018

[naoki]

I love the Idea of a bunch of scientists measuring lizards and then go:
"Mhhh, these lizards have big toe pads and the others not."...
"Let's leave blow them for Science!"

[SupLuiKir]

What if you artificially bred these lizards by how long they could hold on to a tree in a wind chamber until they were much better than wild lizards, then reintroduced this variant species back into the wild?

[averytameduck]

You had me sold on “blasting lizards with leaf blowers”. Where do I donate

[RANDOMNATION]

Interesting. I wonder if Hurricanes can pick-up and carry these little critters from the islands to the main land, intact and alive.

[Ackee-ologist]

Anole lizards huh....a couple of them are avoiding the hurricane season by jumping through my kitchen window.

[shanerooney]

This video...





... Blew me away.

[Free_Krazy]

Allways loved these little lizards.
Every trip down south ive seen these little guys and its nice conpared to the rats and pigeons you see up north in the

[rosedragon]

Me trying to hold onto a memory of a cool dream i had

[Attallasmusic]

what if the lizard was holding a tree and that tree have flown into the hurricane?

[PCLHH]

Lizard harazment. Shame on you. did you even ask the Lizards for their consent?

[Hershewed]

NUU MAH GREEN ANOLES!

The most adorable lizards imaginable :D

[criixt]

could this be applied to atomic bombs? Natural Selection in atomic bombs: The humans that wouldn't let go?

[undertyped]

Natural selection proven to make lizards skip leg day.

[vixenplayz]

They were using leaf blowers on those lizards and I got mad because I learned this in class and I’ll I could think was “ HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO NATURES MOST INOCCENT CREATURES!?”

[SerrizCybil]

Anyone who's lived in the Carolinas could have told you this... We get hurricanes and big storms every year for months out of the year so of course they'd need to be able to hold on.

[AnMComm]

Like, why "Can a hurricane be a driver in natural selection" is even a question?

Every cataclysm of this level is a sem-extinctional event, also known as "a casual filter".

[Muonium]

*THICC LIZARDS FROM TWERKS 'N CAKE HOES*

[meximerican]

How did I end up from watching Gordon Ramsey to this

[ravensnflies]

we got thes little buggers after hurricane katrina in new orleans. we just had the green garden lizards and now the anole has taken over.

[janeilnold]

"Hey sweety, what did you do at work today?"
"I used a leaf blower to distress small lizards...for SCIENCE!"