The Prehensile Tailed Skink ( Corucia Zebrata

Over the last several years, evolution has been playing an increasingly important role in determining how various species are evolving. This is because ecology will have an impact on how quickly a particular organism is able to adapt (with: the unique challenges for a particular environment). To determine the effect that this is having requires carefully examining different species over the course of many years. This will be accomplished by comparing these changes on Darwin and Wallace Islands. Once this occurs, is when specific insights will be provided that are highlighting the underlying challenges affecting the development of organisms. This is the point that these transformations will be evident among the various life forms. (Fasolo, 2011, pp. 53 68)

As seen with Anolis, single species of organisms have the ability to undergo adaptive radiation and become new species by filling niches in a given environment. This is prevalent not only in Anolis, but other model organisms as well, such as finches, sticklebacks, and cichlids. All of these organisms have gone through the similar mechanisms and processes to evolve into different species. Alike to Anolis, they have gone through reproductive isolation, adaptation, and convergent evolution. Due to a poor fossil record of Anolis, the other model organisms may give better outlook on how they have diverged overtime. Further investigations on all of these organisms and their evolutionary mechanisms would not only give better a better idea of ecological speciation, but more comprehension on the origin of all

The crested gecko lives in New Caledonia, which is northeastern to Australia. This part of the country is tropical and has very humid jungles which keep the gecko’s skin moist. The crested gecko’s body over time has adapted to this environment. In particular its tail,

The Galapagos Islands consists of thirteen major islands and over a hundred smaller islands located along the Ecuadorian coast. The islands are home to a variety of unique species such as sea lions, sharks, rays, and 26 different species of native birds. Thirteen of these birds are Darwin’s finches. These finches are known to be the “world’s fastest-evolving vertebrates” due to their bodies quickly adapting to the rapidly changing environment (Robertson, N.D. , para.1). Their DNA chemical makeup causes these adaptations to occur. The finch’s most noticeable feature is their evolutionary adaptations, due to the briskly changing environments.

The purpose of the research was to formulate a question and develop a hypothesis based on the variations observed between two populations of threespine stickleback, in order to gain a better understanding of natural selection

All species are found in North America and tend to be nocturnal, but they inhabit relatively unique niches, which is evident in various minute differences between the species, including fur and nose size. C. townsendii tends to live in evergreen forests that have a moderate climate while C. mexicanus lives in higher, more humid and mountainous habitats. For this reason, C. townsendii has a darker, thicker coat; not only does it act as better natural camouflage, but the coarse, thick hair protects it well from the environment. C. refenisquii is found primarily in the Southwestern United States, but migrates frequently due to the changes in

This paper will discuss primate morphology for the Lemur catta, also known as the ring tailed lemur, what characterizes them as primates, how they react in their environment, and their social and adaptive behaviors in that environment. The Lemur catta and it is only found in the island of Madagascar, as well as off the coast of southeast Africa. In Madagascar, they reside in the southeastern portion anywhere from sea level, up to 8530 feet high. Their environment consists mainly of tropical forested area in the proximity of nine forests: Andohahela, Andringitra, Ankilitelo, Berenty, Beza Mahafaly, Isalo, Tsimanampetsotsa, Tsirave, and Zombitse (Godfrey et al. 1998). According to the National Primate Research Center (pin.primate.wisc.edu), they also have a variety of habitats for example rainforests, spiny bush forests, subalpine, deciduous, and gallery. However, a lot of their habitat has been affected by constant human contact; agricultural clearing, deforestation, and burning to produce charcoal. The Lemur catta need to be able to hide in the forest and they are not very good at adapting to new environments so they depend a lot on the forested areas. The southwest part of Madagascar is very prone to droughts and they can have serious effects on the habitats of ring-tailed lemurs and other mammals. I will discuss what makes the Lemur catta a primate and the primate characteristics that they possess. Then, I will express the specialized, physical characteristics that they

Rodda, G.H., T.H. Fritts, M.J. McCoid and E.W. Campbell. 1999. An overview of the biology of the brown tree snake (B. irregularis), a costly introduced pest on the Pacific Islands. Pages 44-80 in Rodda, G.H., Y. Sawai, D. Chizar, and H. Tanaka, Eds. Problem snake management: the habu and brown tree snake. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

The Fat-tailed Dunnart’s kingdom is Animalia, Phylum is Chordata, class is Mammalia, order is Dasyuromorphia, and family is Dasyuridae, Genus Sminthopsis.

The New Caledonian Crested Gecko is one of the most sought out reptiles in the herptoculture hobby today. This medium-sized gecko has all the qualities of what to expect of a pet lizard. They combine their sheer beauty and low maintenance and docile tempers, making it an all around great pet to own (Rhacodactylus, p. 16). In the herpetological society, the crested gecko’s popularity has grown above hobbyist, into the hands of many first time pet owners, giving a first time experience made easy. According to Fester, (2007) “the rare Crested Gecko thought to be extinct but rediscovered in New Caledonia in 1994” (fester’ at Ireland

The display will be strategically placed near the entrance of a tropical rainforest exhibit concerning rainforest preservation and animal conservation. The display of the new discovery of H. dianae is used to trigger visitors to think seriously and be concerned about the tropical rainforest ecology, diversity, and conservation. The most important lesson is that it is crucial to save the remarkable tropical rainforest, and the present existing and future new discovered beautiful species before they become extinct.

Louis Herman- University of Hawaii- Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory- Phoenix and Akeakamai- since 1979

On August 28, 2014, my family and I went to Washington Crossing State Park. The park section where we stayed was 74.862940 degrees south (Longitude) and 40.313780 degrees east (Latitude). We went there at 2:20 PM and returned at 3:51 PM. The objectives of my observation was to clearly identify the energy flow in the environment while observing the flora and fauna of the area. The temperature for the past few days was around 85 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and it was mostly sunny. The temperature when I went to the park was 78 degrees Fahrenheit which was slightly cooler than usual. The heat might have caused some animals to stay in their

Probosciger aterrimus, better known as the “palm cockatoo”, is the largest bird species of the parakeet (Psittaciformes) family (Taylor 2000). This highly threatened cockatoo species can be found dwelling in many tropical and woodland regions, including those of lowland New Guinea and the savanna habitat of Cape York Peninsula, Australia (Murphy et al. 2003), and can be identified by its long, plumaged body, curled erectile crest, and naked cheek patches. Of particular interest, and perhaps the most distinctive of this cockatoo’s traits, is the long, strong hooked beak. As with many bird species, the palm cockatoo’s bill has adapted to its specific dietary preferences and feeding strategies; in particular, the shock absorbing ability of the large, powerful bill allows the granivore-frugivore (grain or seed-eating – fruit-eating, respectively) (Koutsos et al. 2001) parakeet to scavenge for hard nuts that are otherwise inaccessible to other parakeet species. Further supporting the granivorous diet-accommodating beak morphology of the palm cockatoo is a study conducted by Munshi-South and Wilkinson (2006) that conclusively correlated the evolution of longer lifespans in parrots with the adoption of seed-based diets. If parrot species do in fact achieve longer lifespans by adopting granivorous diets, natural selection’s favoring of traits maximizing the adoption of a granivorous diet in the palm cockatoo should be relatively equally distributed amongst all members of the

While on the Galápagos Islands, Darwin kept notebooks about all the species there, and he noticed the variety of tortoises on the island who were essential in explaining his theory of evolution. There are several species of tortoise present on the Galápagos Islands that are all very closely related, but slightly different. There are eleven presently surviving subspecies of Galápagos tortoises; furthermore, six of the eleven are found on different islands in the archipelago, and the other five are all found on a single island on five separate volcanoes with their own mini-ecosystems (PNAS). Although all of the species of Galápagos tortoise is different, they each have small differences that can include maximum adult size, shell shape, and the length of the neck and limbs. The tortoises of the islands are most closely related to the Chaco tortoises along the western coast of South America, and they most likely came to the Galápagos by “rafting” across the water (PNAS). Similar to the tortoises, Darwin observed that the Finches on the islands also had changed to match the environment. Spread among the islands were fourteen subspecies of finch whose