To study the effect the ecological impact of malaria, researchers in California measured the effect of malaria on what distance an animal could run in 2 minutes. They used a sample of a local lizard species, Sceloporis occidentalis, collected in the field. They selected 15 lizards from those found to be infected with the malarial parasite Plasmodium mexicanum and 15 lizards found not infected. The distance each lizard could run in a time limit of 2 minutes was recorded in a controlled environment.

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