Anolis cybotes, the Largehead anole Coral Springs area of Broward county, Florida 21 January 2017, Nikon D7100
Admittedly, it’s been a somewhat difficult week to focus on lizards, photography, and writing. I can barely keep up with the catastrophic, amateur-hour, hot-mess that calls itself the White House right now, and that’s putting it mildly. What a shit show of misery. I’m only now starting to find my sea legs in this maelstrom of governmental mayhem. Though I’m not particularly optimistic of the near future, I am feeling a bit more confident than I was a week ago. I know that I am not alone in these feelings, and this country clearly isn’t going to go down or forfeit its foundational values without a fight. I truly don’t think we’ve faced such an internal crisis since the American Civil War. These are strange days, indeed — and we’re all going to find out how resilient and durable our constitutional structure of federal government truly is. This is our test.
With that on the table, I suppose it’s time to dip our toes back into the pool of south Florida’s biodiversity. There’s still so, so much to share from our January run down south.
As we’ve seen in recent posts, Eric and I were able to find a healthy number of non-native anole species in South Florida — with the merciful grace and assistance of one James Stroud. I’m not sure I could pick a “favorite” species from the weekend’s excursion, but I was certainly impressed by the Largehead anoles (Anolis cybotes, one of which is featured on this post).
Think about it: This is a non-native species, native to Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti), scratching out a living in an otherwise unfamiliar and somewhat cluttered ecological landscape. South Florida is jammed to the gills not only with homes, people, box stores, and all such Americana, but also with non-native species fluttering, slithering, and scratching about everywhere. It’s an ecological free-for-all.
Some species, like the Cuban brown anole (Anolis sagrei), have adapted with remarkable veracity and success. Others, such as the Largehead anole featured on this post, are more limited in their success — existing in small, somewhat isolated population clusters here and there, hanging on and moving forward in limited pockets of habitat. There’s something impressive about that — the ability to persevere and move forward despite such obstacles. Anoles are remarkably resilient and tough organisms.
One of the things that fascinates me about South Florida is the fluidity of its biodiversity. In South Florida, ecological balance is erratic and forever shifting. There isn’t really any kind of stability; everything is defined by perpetual change. Of course, you could say the same for any square acre of North America (or the world) and you’d be right on the money, but in South Florida it’s a dramatic, exaggerated, and rapid-fire form of change and ecological shifting. In the world of lizards, for example, you’ll find Caribbean and African lizards duking it out for habitat dominance while the North American lizards scramble around the fray and adapt to their new competitors. Anything goes, and game of life is constantly changing.
In South Florida, the delusional myth of borders and barriers is clearly revealed and laid naked before all to see. This is the natural state of the world: fluid change and constant adaptation. In the real world, not the world of boneheaded bumpersticker politics, life doesn’t change backward. Life only moves forward. Change defines the natural state of life, and the organisms that adapt to real-world and environmental changes are the ones that earn their respective futures. The rest, those rigidly stuck in the past and/or unwilling or unable to adapt to the real world around us, quietly fade away.
Anolis cybotes, the Largehead anole; Broward county, Florida (21 January 2017, Nikon D7100).
Anolis cybotes, the Largehead anole; Broward county, Florida (21 January 2017, Nikon D7100).
To learn more about All-Things-Anolis, you should check out anoleannals.org. If you just want pictures and such, you can also filter and check out all currently-published phosTracks anole posts!
The Largehead Anole (Anolis cybotes), 21 January 2017 Anolis cybotes, the Largehead anole Coral Springs area of Broward county, Florida 21 January 2017, Nikon D7100…