within the past 70 years, according to a study published in 2009, eastern fence lizards in parts of their range have adapted to have longer legs and new behaviors to escape the red imported fire ant, which can kill the lizard in under a minute. red imported fire ants threaten eastern fence lizards because they occupy their microhabitats causing mortality or relocation. moreover, according to a study published in 2016, artificial eastern fence lizard nests were shown to be vulnerable to predation by red imported fire ants, resulting in nonviability of the eggs.