Do Lizards Avoid Habitats in Which Performance Is Submaximal? The Relationship between Sprinting Capabilities and Structural Habitat Use in Caribbean Anoles

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 1999 papers

Abstract

Recent years have seen an increased emphasis on measuring ecologically relevant performance capabilities to understand associations between morphology and habitat use. Such studies presume that performance is invariant, but in eight Caribbean Anolis lizard species, we found that maximal sprinting ability depends on surface diameter. Moreover, these species differ in the degree to which sprint speed declines with decreasing surface diameter, defined as "sprint sensitivity" (high sprint [Formula: see text] declines in speed between broad and narrow dowels). The habitat constraint hypothesis postulates that Anolis lizards will avoid structural habitats in which their maximal sprinting capabilities are impaired. The habitat breadth hypothesis postulates that species whose performance is less affected by substrate will use a greater variety of habitats than species whose performance varies to a greater extent on surfaces of different diameters. Field observations quantified the proportion of time that lizards spent on different perch diameters. Both hypotheses were confirmed: species with high values of sprint sensitivity avoided using perches on which their maximal sprinting abilities are impaired, whereas species with low sprint sensitivity used such "submaximal" surfaces more frequently. Species with low sprint sensitivity used a broader range of structural habitats than species with high sprint sensitivity.

Related Papers

• → The effects of progesterone on sexual behavior in male green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis)(1991)41 cited
• → Intersexual chemo-sensation in a “visually-oriented” lizard,Anolis sagrei(2016)22 cited
• → The effect of hyperthyroidism on the photoperiodic stimulation of testicular recrudescence in the lizard, Anolis carolinensis(1972)5 cited
• → Photoperiodic photoreception in the male lizard anolis carolinensis: the eyes are not involved(1980)12 cited
• → Social Behavior of the Normal and Castrated Lizard, Anolis carolinensis(1936)