Ecology of the South American Lizard Norops chrysolepis (Polychrotidae)

1996; American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists; Volume: 1996; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/1446941

ISSN

1938-5110

Autores

Laurie J. Vitt, Peter A. Zani,

Tópico(s)

Species Distribution and Climate Change

Resumo

Norops chrysolepis was studied in two tropical forest habitats in Amazon rain forests of Ecuador (Sucumbios Province) and Brazil (Roraima State). Nearly all individuals occurred in leaf litter of terra firme forest, and most were first observed in shaded microhabitats or those receiving filtered sun. Body temperatures of active individuals averaged 27.9 ? 0.27 C, and substrate temperature accounted for 31% of the variation in body temperatures. When the effect of substrate temperature was removed, Roraima lizards had slightly higher body temperatures than lizards from Sucumbios. Lizards from Sucumbios were larger in body size than those from Roraima, and even though sexual dimorphism existed in both populations, it was manifested differently in each. The diet was similar at both localities with orthopterans, blattarians, insect larvae, and spiders dominating the diet. Even though lizard size explained a significant portion of the variation in prey size, significant differences remained in corrected prey size between localities with lizards from Sucumbios eating relatively larger prey. Reexamination of published ecological data coupled with our data only partially support conclusions drawn by past researchers on the ecological basis for distributional patterns in N. chrysolepis. Although two subspecies appear restricted to forest, it is for different reasons than proposed earlier.

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