James Stroud, an assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences, has been selected as a 2025 Packard Fellow for his research in evolutionary biology. The fellowship, awarded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, provides $875,000 over five years to support Stroud’s work on “Lizard Island” in South Florida.
Stroud’s project aims to develop a high-definition map of evolution by outfitting 1,000 lizards with lightweight sensor backpacks. These sensors, each weighing just six-hundredths of a gram, will collect data on the animals’ movements and behaviors. The technology is intended to help researchers better understand how behavior influences evolutionary processes in natural environments.
The Packard Fellowship is given annually to 20 scientists and engineers pursuing innovative research. Nancy Lindborg, president and CEO of the Packard Foundation, stated, “These visionary Packard Fellows are pushing the boundaries of knowledge, and their bold ideas will become tomorrow’s real-world solutions.”
Stroud has been conducting research on Lizard Island since 2015. Over the past decade, he has tracked every lizard on the island to study their body characteristics, habitat use, and survival. The new funding will allow him to integrate advanced mapping technology, including LiDAR, to create a detailed three-dimensional map of the island. Stroud explained, “By shooting millions of laser beams, we can create a highly detailed three-dimensional map of Lizard Island, capturing the shape of every branch, rock, and blade of grass on the island. When connected to our lizard backpacks, we’ll know the exact microhabitats and resources available to each lizard as they move through this environment.”
In addition to tracking movement, Stroud will use hundreds of microclimate sensors to monitor how species respond to temperature and climate changes. The resulting database will document lizard movements, resource use, daily interactions, and environmental changes over time.
Stroud described the significance of this work: “I’m incredibly honored to be named a 2025 Packard Fellow. This support allows me to pursue a question that has fascinated evolutionary biologists for centuries: how does behavior shape evolution? It’s a transformative opportunity, and I’m deeply grateful to the Packard Foundation for believing in the potential of this work.”
He also highlighted the challenges in measuring animal behavior in evolutionary studies. “This has been a missing link because behavior is a critical component of evolution,” Stroud said. “Behavior can both expose individuals to — or shield them from — natural selection. For example, an animal with a less favorable trait, like bad eyesight, could change its behavior to avoid situations where it is disadvantaged. These decisions can ultimately determine whether they survive and reproduce in the wild, directly influencing the outcome of natural selection. However, until now, we just haven’t had the technology to measure these types of extremely intricate behaviors across many individuals before.”
He concluded by noting the potential impact of the new technology: “For evolutionary scientists, it has been seemingly impossible to track the moment-by-moment decisions of individual organisms… until now. Today, it’s possible to study what Darwin could only dream of — evolution occurring in real time. Behavior is a critical component of evolution, understanding evolution is critical to understanding life on Earth, and understanding life on Earth is more important than ever.”
