Thermal Ecology of Anoline Lizards: Temperate versus Tropical Strategies

Abstract

Based on field studies of a Texas population, the thermal ecology of the northernmost anole (Anolis carolinensis) is described in terms of mean and preferred body temperatures. Multiple linear regression analyses of mean body temperatures from 37 anole populations show significant positive regressions with ambient light level and latitude, and a significant negative relationship with eleva- tion. We contrast the roles of mean body temperature in adaptive strategies of dis- persal from lowland tropical sites (1) into low temperate latitudes and (2) up tropical mountains. It appears that with dispersal, the behavior patterns which con- trol mean body temperature (i.e., habitat selection and basking) have been readily modified evolutionarily with the result that changes in a whole suite of other life- history characteristics have been minimized.