Eco-evolutionary Dynamics of a Thermoconforming Anole Recolonizing Secondary Forest
Eco-evolutionary theory predicts that expanding populations may experience a reduction in genetic diversity due to the small number of founding individuals. Empirical support for this prediction stems primarily from studies of biological invasions or post-glacial recolonizations. While there are some parallels between these expansions and recolonization of recovering forests there are also fundamental differences. During recolonization, there is the potential of connectivity to extant populations and a shared evolutionary history with the environment. Therefore, it is still unknown if this prediction holds during fauna recolonization. To address this issue, we compared genome-wide SNP data from Anolis gundlachi - an endemic shade-specialist lizard that is recolonizing secondary forests in Puerto Rico - among adjacent forests of varying ages.