A brown anole crawls along a metal pipe leading under a home in New Orleans, where Tulane University researchers found lead levels in their blood well beyond what they considered a lethal amount of the toxin. (Louisiana Illuminator photo)
Something remarkable is happening with the little brown lizards that have taken over the urban landscape of New Orleans. They’re living – and even thriving – with levels of lead in their blood that scientists say should be lethal to creatures that are far bigger, both two- and four-legged.
A new Tulane University study on brown anoles could offer a better understanding of lead poisoning, how doctors can treat it and how wildlife evolves to live within an increasingly urban world, according to the researchers behind the findings…