Anoline Diversity in Three Differentially Altered Habitats in the Sierra de Baoruco,República Dominicana,Hispaniola1

We examined three disturbed, but distinctly different, sites on the historically forested eastern slope of the Sierra de Baoruco, Provincia de Barahona, República Dominicana, in order to evaluate the impact of habitat alteration on the composition of anoline lizard communities. Five species of Anolis (A. bahorucoensis, A. barahonae, A. coelestinus, A. sybotes, A. distichus) are known to occur in the immediate area of our study sites. Only three were found in the most substantially altered clear-cut site, whereas all five species occupied the most heterogeneous habitat, a coffee plantation characterized by a three-tiered canopy. Similarly, numbers of individuals of all but one species were greatest in the plot that most closely resembled the natural forests in this area. Calculated niche breadths, based on analysis of stomach contents, of the three species found in all sites increased with the degree of habitat alteration. The higher number of A. coelestinus in more heavily altered sites may be attributed to density compensation.     

The maternal energetic environment affects both egg and offspring phenotypes in green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis)

Animals exist in dynamic environments that may affect both their own fitness and that of their offspring. Maternal effects might allow mothers to prepare their offspring for the environment in which they will be born via several mechanisms, not all of which are well understood. Resource scarcity and forced resource allocation are two scenarios that could affect maternal investment by altering the amount and type of resources available for investment in offspring, albeit in potentially different ways. We tested the hypothesis that maternal dietary restriction and sprint training have different consequences for the offspring phenotype in an oviparous lizard (Anolis carolinensis). To do this, we collected and reared eggs from adult diet-manipulated females (low-diet [LD] or high-diet [HD]) and sprint-trained females (sprint trained [ST] or untrained [UT]) and measured both egg characteristics and hatchling morphology. ST and LD mothers laid both the fewest and heaviest eggs, and ST, UT, and LD eggs also had significantly longer incubation periods than the HD group. Hatchlings from the diet experiment (LD and HD offspring) were the heaviest overall. Furthermore, both body mass of the mother at oviposition and change in maternal body mass over the course of the experiment had significant and sometimes different effects on egg and offspring phenotypes, highlighting the importance of maternal energetic state to the allocation of maternal resources.     

Dewlap and other variation in the lizards Anolis distichus and A. brevirostris (Reptilia: Iguanidae)

The dewlap of male anoline lizards is an important component of the mate recognition system. Much attention has focussed on the role dewlap colour plays in the interactions between species of Anolis but little has been paid to the effects of intraspecific variability in this feature. Patterns of intrasubspecific variability in this feature are described for several subspecies of Anolis distichus and A. brevirostris . In most cases variability in dewlap colour appears unrelated to the amount of electrophoretic variability and the level of population differentiation, although there is some evidence for large scale geographic subdivision within three of the taxa examined. Female choice and the implications for various species concepts are discussed.     

Histochemical and ultrastructural analyses of adhesive setae of lizards indicate that they contain lipids in addition to keratins

We studied the distribution of lipid material and organelles in the epidermal layers of toe pads from two species of lizards representing the two main lizard families in which adhesive scansors are found (gekkonids and polychrotids), the dull day gecko, Phelsuma dubia and the green anole, Anolis carolinensis. Although lipids are a conspicuous component of the mesos layer of squamate reptiles and function in reducing cutaneous water loss, their distribution has not been specifically studied in the highly elaborated epidermal surface of adhesive toe pads. We found that, in addition to the typical cutaneous water loss‐resistant mesos and alpha‐layer lipids, the Oberhäutchen (including the setae) on the most exterior layers of the epidermis in P. dubia and A. carolinensis also contain lipid material. We also present detailed histochemical and ultrastructural analyses of the toe pads of P. dubia, which indicate that lipid material is closely associated spatially with maturing setae as they branch during the renewal phase of epidermal regeneration. This lipid material appears associated with the packing of keratin within setae, possibly affecting permeability to water loss in the pad lamella, where the surface area is from 4–60‐fold greater compared with normal scales. J. Morphol., 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

An experimental study of interspecific interactions between two Puerto Rican Anolis lizards

We analyzed the impact of interspecific interactions between two ecologically and morphologically distinct Puerto Rican lizards, Anolis gundlachi and A. evermanni, in an experimental design consisting of six 20 × 20 m plots divided into three blocks, each consisting of a pair of experimental and control plots. We removed A. gundlachi from experimental plots and monitored the response of A. evermanni. The reduction in the number of A. gundlachi resulted in a significant increase in the abundance of both adult and juvenile A. evermanni. We found no evidence for a shift in structural habitat use in A. evermanni in experimental plots. Two possible mechanisms, interspecific competition and intraguild predation, could explain the increase in abundance of A. evermanni after the removal of A. gundlachi. These results make clear that interactions still occur between A. gundlachi and A. evermanni even given their morphological and ecological differences. Received: 14 November 1997 / Accepted: 4 May 1998     

Evaporative Water Loss in Nine Insular Populations of the Lizard Anolis cristatellus Group in the British Virgin Islands

We studied water loss in eight insular populations of the lizard Anolis cristatellus wileyae and in one population of A. ernestwilliamsi in the British Virgin Islands. We found a strong negative correlation between habitat aridity and total and cutaneous water loss rate (ranging from 1.5–10.3 mg g^?1 h^?l) and a strong positive correlation between habitat aridity and integument resistance to water loss (28.5?199.0 s cm^?1). Water loss and integumentary resistance of A. ernestwilliamsi were similar to what would be predicted for A. cristatellus living in the same habitat. The Guana Island population of A. cristatellus was significantly different from all other populations. We believe two processes are responsible; phenotypic plasticity explains most of the observed variability, but genetic differentiation may be responsible for the distinction of lizards from Guana.