The Evolution meetings are not my normal conference “home” (that honor generally goes to SICB and JMIH). However, my inaugural visit to Evolution in Guarujá Brazil in 2015 was a blast. So, with Evolution 2019 being so close in nearby Providence, I decided to make a second appearance.

Evolution had one of the best poster sessions in recent memory. Probably because the aisles were huge, and folks could comfortably stop and chat without worrying about blocking everyone else!

The meeting was, of course, a chance to catch up with old friends. I also had great opportunities to meet new folks who I normally wouldn’t have had the chance to and learn about their work. As usual, I put on my conference hat of roving blog reporter for both Anole Annals and Life in the City, covering presentations dealing with:

Using archival DNA to understand the evolutionary history of the only anole presumed to have gone extinct recently, A. roosevelti by Greg Mayer

How we should approach predicting the impacts of climate change on Caribbean anoles? from Vincent Farallo

What effects radiation from the Chernobyl Incident may be having on frogs living in the exclusion zone? by Germán Orizaola (this talk was great! Check out Germán’s blog)

An Eastern treefrog (Hyla orientalis) showing normal green coloration used to assess impacts of Chernobyl’s radiation (Germán Orizaola)

Of course I also presented on my own work looking at the impacts of artificial light at night on anoles and how this might facilitate use of urban habitats. Check out the coverage on Anole Annals by Emmanuel D’Agostino, an undergrad from Harvard who presented at the conference.