Activity for Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree

This activity explores the concepts and research on the anole lizards discussed in the short film The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree, including adaptation by natural selection, convergent evolution, and the formation of new species.

This film describes how the more than 700 islands of the Caribbean are home to about 150 species of anoles, a closely related group of lizards (genus Anolis) that occupy diverse habitats and niches. Research on these lizards is enriching our understanding of evolutionary processes and illuminating how and why there are so many different kinds of living organisms on Earth.

The “Student Handout” probes students’ understanding of the key concepts addressed in the film. The “Educator Materials” document provides suggested pause points in the film with questions for students, background information, and detailed discussion points; a list of related resources and references; and an answer key for the “Student Handout.”

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.