Welcome to the Vulnerability of Tropical Ectotherms to Climate Warming Project website
A male Anolis gundlachi caugh in El Verde field station.
A few years ago, Professor Raymond Huey became interested in the impacts of climate warming on tropical ectotherms (animals like insects, amphibians, fish, and lizards). In the early 1970s Huey had done part of his thesis work on the thermal ecology of Anolis lizards in Puerto Rico, and he realized one way to determine whether warming has already influenced tropical lizards would be to return to Puerto Rico after 1/3 century, to replicate studies from his academic ‘childhood,’ and then to search for evidence of warming-induced changes. Because several important Anole researchers had also worked on the ecology of these lizards in the 1970s and 1980s, involving them would provide additional tests of warming impacts. The prospect of returning to Puerto Rico was appealing to all, and so in 2010 Huey, George Gorman, Paul Hertz, and Bradford Lister returned to Puerto Rico to evaluate the feasibility of replicating their earlier work. And they were able to obtain research funds from the National Science Foundation. With the help of Professor Hector Joel Alvarez, Professor Patricia Burrows and students from the University of Puerto Rico, the project officially began during the summer of 2011.
Here you can find information about the project, field sites, climate change science in the tropics, current Anolis research news, and even recommendations regarding the culinary culture of Puerto Rico!
Here you can find information about the project, field sites, climate change science in the tropics, current Anolis research news, and even recommendations regarding the culinary culture of Puerto Rico!
"Even a thought, even a possibility, can shatter us and transform us"
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche