INTEGRATIVE APPROACHES TO EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY - ANOLIS LIZARDS AS MODEL SYSTEMS

Two approaches characterize the study of evolutionary ecology. Prospec tive studies investigate how present-day ecological processes may lead to evolutionary change; retrospective studies ask how present-day eco logical conditions can be understood as the outcome of historical even ts. I argue that the most appropriate test of an evolutionary ecologic al hypothesis requires an integration of these approaches. I illustrat e this approach by examining the hypothesis that interspecific competi tion has been the driving force behind the evolutionary radiation of A nolis lizards in the Caribbean. This hypothesis is supported by four l ines of evidence: 1. Anole communities are structured by competition; 2. Populations alter resource use in the presence of congeners; 3. Mic roevolutionary adaptation occurs in response to resource shifts; and 4 . Macroevolutionary patterns are consistent with interspecific competi tion as the driving force behind anole adaptive radiation.