Efectos Del Estado Nutricional Y La Disponibilidad De Presas Sobre El Comportamiento Territorial De Anolis Cristatellus, En El Bosque Urbano De Mayaguez Puerto Rico

The crested lizard (Anolis cristatellus) usually deploys aggressive or territorial behavior, to which several adaptive functions have been attributed that can vary depending on the individual and the quality of territory. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of prey availability on the territorial behavior of this species. To make this assessment I observed thirty individuals of different sex and size, during a four-day period. In the third day of the cycle, I offered them Tenebrio molitor larvae. The variables I took into consideration were body orientation (up or down), number of visual signals (push-ups and dewlap displays), number of perches used and perch height (maximum, minimum and average). For statistical analysis I used a split-plot design with repeated measures and two linear mixed generalized models of SAS 9.1: MIXED for continual variables and GLIMMIX for categorical variables. I found that on the third day, all individuals had their body oriented upwards and were located higher up the perches. Nevertheless, males tended to stay higher up a perch than females and were oriented downwards throughout the cycle of observation. Specifically, bigger males faced down more frequently than smaller individuals (males and females). Regarding visual signals, I found significant differences in the number of push-ups according to sex, males displaying more frequently. In addition, I found that bigger males flared their dewlap more frequently than small males. These results suggests that nutritional state and prey availability affect the territorial behavior of this lizard, as they moved higher up the perch after feeding on larvae, perhaps as protection against predators. However, adult males were higher in elevation, oriented downwards and displayed more frequently, which can be attributed to the additional purposes in the territorial behavior of these individuals to guarantee mating and shelter.