Researchers in U of T’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology studied anoles on the islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola to better understand what determines biodiversity (all photos courtesy of Luke Mahler)
Researchers in U of T's department of ecology and evolutionary biology studied anoles on the islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola to better understand what determines biodiversity (all photos courtesy of Luke Mahler) "If you pick a spot in, say, a rainforest, and count the number of different species of lizards within 15 metres and you come up with a number," says Luke Mahler, "What determines that number?" Mahler is an assistant professor in the University of Toronto's department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science. He studies how the interplay of ecological and evolutionary forces over time and space results in the biodiversity we see in different habitats. He does this primarily by studying Anolis lizards - aka anoles - small, tree-dwelling reptiles in tropical regions of the Americas. What determines the number of different species in local communities of animals? The question is a long-standing ecological problem for which there has been no consensus. "Is it because of local processes like competition for food or territory?" Mahler asks. "Or is it the result of broader, regional processes like the generation of new species by evolution?" One hypothesis suggests the determining force is local competition. In other words, if a local community - for example, a particular patch of forest on a tropical island - is "full up" with several species, then additional species wouldn't be able to persist because every ecological niche is already occupied.
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