I have returned! For the last month I have been camping and studying lizard behavior on a small island in the Halifax River near Ormond Beach, Florida, USA.
We tend to find Brown Anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) in two different types of habitat. Juveniles are frequently found in open canopy areas on low vegetation, whereas adults are more frequently encountered in forested areas on higher vegetation. This ontogenetic shift in habitat selection could be due to variation in diet or risk of predation between age classes. In addition, there could be direct competition between adults and juveniles such that one age class is forced to a less preferred habitat.
To address this, I assembled 27 mesh enclosures and placed either juveniles, adult males, or adult females in cages. I recorded where each lizard perched in its cage (which contained an artificial tree) each morning, midday, evening, and night for 4 days. Then I introduced adult males and females into some treatments containing juveniles to see how they respond to each other.
I am excited to get the data input and analyzed to see how these age classes affect how each other use their habitat!
We tend to find Brown Anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) in two different types of habitat. Juveniles are frequently found in open canopy areas on low vegetation, whereas adults are more frequently encountered in forested areas on higher vegetation. This ontogenetic shift in habitat selection could be due to variation in diet or risk of predation between age classes. In addition, there could be direct competition between adults and juveniles such that one age class is forced to a less preferred habitat.
To address this, I assembled 27 mesh enclosures and placed either juveniles, adult males, or adult females in cages. I recorded where each lizard perched in its cage (which contained an artificial tree) each morning, midday, evening, and night for 4 days. Then I introduced adult males and females into some treatments containing juveniles to see how they respond to each other.
I am excited to get the data input and analyzed to see how these age classes affect how each other use their habitat!