Geometric Morphometric Assessment of Toe Shape in Forest and Urban Lizards Following Hurricane Disturbances

Evidence suggests that hurricanes can influence the evolution of organisms, with phenotypic traits involved in adhesion, such as the toepads of arboreal lizards, being particularly susceptible to natural selection imposed by hurricanes. To investigate this idea, we quantified trait variation before and after Hurricanes Irma and Maria (2017) in forest and urban populations of the Puerto Rican lizard Anolis cristatellus. We found that the hurricanes affected toe morphology differently between forest and urban sites. In particular, toepads of the forefeet were longer and narrower in forest, but wider in urban populations, compared to pre-hurricane measures. Toepads of the hind feet were larger in area following the hurricanes. Fore and rear toes increased in length following the hurricane. There were no changes in the number of lamellae scales or lamellae spacing, but lamellae 6–11 of the forefeet shifted proximally following the hurricane. We also measured clinging performance and toe shape. We found that toepad area and toe lengths were stronger predictors of adhesive forces than toepad shape. Our results highlight an interaction between urbanization and hurricanes, demonstrating the importance to consider how urban species will respond to extreme weather events. Additionally, our different results for fore and rear feet highlight the importance of evaluating both of these traits when measuring the morphological response to hurricanes in arboreal lizards.