CLIENT
We worked with Day’s Edge Productions for Harvard University and John Templeton Foundation to create the animations and graphics for a 7-part web series about anole lizards. Their intense variety (40 different species) make them intriguing and invaluable to scientific understanding of evolution. We also developed a website that serves as the source for research on Anolis lizards.
SERVICES
Anoles are lizards with an evolutionary story to tell. There are over 400 species of anoles, living all over the American and Caribbean tropics: from remote rainforests in the Greater Antilles to bustling mainland cities. In the last 50 years, anoles have become a “model organism” for studying evolution, ecology, and animal behavior. Scientists around the world have published thousands of studies on these humble lizards. Watch to find out what makes an anole an anole, and why these unassuming lizards have drawn so much attention from scientists.
The “Greater Antilles” – Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico – are hotspots of anole diversity. But what’s most surprising are the unexpected parallels between anoles living on different islands. Why do the anoles of Puerto Rico, with adaptations to various habitats, have a virtually identical set of lizard doppelgangers on Hispaniola? Did the lizards become specialized first, then spread from island to island? Or did they diversify in the same way several times? Testing the anoles’ physical performance and examining their DNA points to a surprising answer.
One way to understand the present day diversity of anoles, is to look back into their 60-million-year history. To do that, scientists rely on a number of techniques, from fossil hunting to DNA analysis. By reconstructing the evolutionary history of anoles, we can begin to understand how they spread in the Caribbean and the American tropics, adapted to every environment, and diversified into hundreds of modern species.
“Speciation” is the process by which one species becomes two. Many scientists define species as groups of organisms that cannot interbreed with one another. So what prevents anole species from interbreeding, and how do these “reproductive barriers” arise? One distinctive feature of anoles, the dewlap, seems to be a sort of species ID badge. And a massive new experiment may show us how natural selection can accelerate the speciation process.
Why do anole researchers favor tiny Caribbean islands for their work? Sure, they’re beautiful. But tiny islands are also relatively simple ecosystems, giving scientists a clear window into how ecological processes really work. Tiny islands in the Bahamas provide a rare opportunity to observe ecology and evolution in action, at a scale that researchers can manipulate and study. And the discoveries from these studies are changing how we think about the speed of natural selection.
Experiments on small islands show us that the presence or absence of one species can have huge effects on an ecosystem. Now, anole researchers are building on that knowledge to discover how the interactions between species have evolutionary consequences. When you add a new species into an ecosystem, how do the other species respond? And over several generations, how can their responses influence their evolution?
Some anoles are just as at home in big cities as they are in tropical forests. Understanding why may help us predict the effects of urbanization on wild animals around the world. Facing a new set of challenges – from slippery man-made surfaces to super-hot temperatures – how are anoles evolving to survive (and thrive!) in a human-dominated world? And why are some species better at coping with humans than others? New studies are revealing how some anoles are rising to their biggest evolutionary challenge yet.
More Work
Trust for Public Land
We assist TPL in crafting narratives centered on the human experience. Our stories showcase TPL’s efforts to provide park access, support community-led projects, create walkable communities, and combat climate change’s disproportionate impact on communities of color.
National Geographic
We assist the National Geographic Society and their partners in crafting stories about science, nature, and people, animating complex science data, raising awareness about climate change and biodiversity loss, and integrating National Geographic Explorers’ work into classrooms.
The Nature Conservancy
We highlight TNC’s innovative conservation approaches, ensuring Indigenous peoples, local communities, and human well-being are at the center of rigorous, data-driven science, policy, and effective, scalable solutions.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
We collaborate with HHMI, their partners, and Day’s Edge Productions to create vibrant and educational animated segments for their science-focused videos, helping to transform complex concepts into visually engaging stories.
Biomimicry Institute
We partnered with Biomimicry Institute two years in a row to produce a series of animated explainer videos for 20 finalists in the Ray of Hope Prize competition. It is now more vital than ever that we as a species prioritize learning everything that we can from nature; internalizing its many brilliant and varied strategies so that we can better face the challenges before us.
SCRIPPS Oceanography
We have contributed animated explainer sequences to several SCRIPPS Institution of Oceanography videos, including all of the motion graphic sequences in their ongoing series: Wavelengths.
Caravan Lab
We collaborate with the filmmakers at Caravan Lab on videos covering a wide range of topics: from the ongoing efforts to restore rivers flowing through Indigenous lands to crafting engaging, animated summaries of scientific studies.
Veritasium
We collaborated with Day’s Edge Productions to create the motion graphic segments for Veritasium’s video on how the eyes of jumping spiders work.
Day’s Edge Productions
We partner frequently with Days Edge Productions, creating animated sequences for their documentaries on everything ranging from endangered species to the science behind extreme athletes.
The International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics
We worked with The International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), an association of academic and industrial scientists involved in research on fundamental and applied aspects of probiotics and prebiotics, to create six informational animated videos.
The News Literacy Project
We worked with The News Literacy Project to create a series of animated spots as public service announcements covering how you can vote during the United States 2020 presidential election.
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
We created these playful science communication pieces for the Genetics of Taste Lab, a citizen science project inviting viewers to join in at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The videos aimed to encourage participation with scientists to explore what DNA and the microbiome reveal about your sense of taste.
US Forest Service
We have been commissioned by the US Forest Service to develop videos, interpretive content, graphic design, and exhibits. We love sharing cultural and ecological stories with the public that visit our National Forests.
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
We collaborated with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership to create an animated video and accompanying newspaper ad to advocate for funding locally-led water conservation efforts.
Bird Genoscape Project
We worked with Day’s Edge Productions and researchers from the Center for Tropical Research on the recently launched Bird Genoscape Project, an effort to map the population-specific migratory routes of 100 species of migratory songbirds by harnessing the power of genomics. We produced the animated sequences for their film on Mapping the Flyways of the Americas.
Land Trusts, Parks & Open Space
We love our Parks & Open Spaces, and are always eager to work with the entities and Land Trusts that protect and steward them.
Municipalities
We love working with municipalities of every size, doing what we can to help them enact changes for the better, for the people, animals and lands they oversee.
Higher Education
We have produced videos for several higher education institutions across Colorado — and beyond.
Legacy of the Plains Museum
We partnered with Exhibit Design Associates to develop a permanent exhibition at the Legacy of the Plains Museum adjacent to Scotts Bluff National Monument in Gering, Nebraska. The exhibition tells the stories of human and agricultural history on the High Plains and includes an impressive collection of pioneer and early community artifacts.
Amaktoolik Studios
We have collaborated closely with this Alaska Native-owned professional architectural services firm to help boost the voices of Indigenous peoples across the US.
Vision Zero
We created a series of videos for the Vision Zero Network, who are committed to helping communities reach their goal of Vision Zero — reducing the number of traffic fatalities to zero — while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.
Thorne Nature Preschool
We have provided several videos for Thorne Nature Preschool, which provides early childhood educational experiences that initiate young children into a deep relationship with the natural world. Early exposure and integration into nature can foster the next generation of passionate environmental stewards.
GCF Taskforce
We developed a video for this unique subnational collaboration focused on protecting tropical forests, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and promoting realistic pathways to forest-maintaining rural development.
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado
We developed a full campaign to encourage support for this amazing outdoor volunteer organization. We designed a new logo and brand guidelines, messaging, several videos and print media pieces, social media content, a digital badge program, and an app. The Movement has begun.
We are grateful to work with