NO. 3595 ANOLIS LINEATOPUS — RAND 29 



A number of the adults marked in September through October but not seen in 

 March probably were marked during temporary shifts and occasional excursions 

 into the study area. 



I have no data for longer than 6 months but several members of the 

 faculty of the University of the West Indies have told me of A. 

 lineatopus that have lived in the faculty's houses and used the same 

 pieces of furniture for perches over several years. These stories, 

 based on unmarked animals, are inconclusive but not improbable. 



The reasons for the shifts observed in the adults include changes in 

 the structure of the environment through the cutting and growth of 

 vegetation and interactions with other adults. 



It is possible that changes in available food supply affect the area 

 utilized, a concentration of insects attracting a lizard to a new area 

 and a scarcity forcing a Uzard to abandon an area, but I have no 

 evidence on this point. 



Both young males and young females may hold activity ranges 

 several days or weeks and perhaps longer, but their activity ranges 

 tend to be less stable and less permanent than those of established 

 adults. 



Twenty-five young males in Barbican [fig. 7] were marked from September 

 through November 7. Only 17 of these were seen more than once and 9 of these 

 were seen again in March. All 9 had made changes in their areas. Unlike the 

 adults, only 3 of these changes were to adjacent areas, the other 6 were to distant 

 spots, over distances of 45, 48, 35, 35, 45, and 85 feet, respectively. 



Even during the period of intensive observation (September through Novem- 

 ber 7), disjunct shifts were common. Of the 17 young males seen twice or more in 

 this period, 8 showed changes. Six of these were disjunct with distances of 54, 

 65, 25, 52, 70, 35 feet, respectively. That these shifts average no farther over 

 the short September-November period than over the long September-March 

 period is indicative only, I think, of the small size of the study area. 



The young females in this area show similar instability but less strikingly so 

 than do the young males. Twenty-nine young females were marked. Of these, 

 14 were seen more than once and, of these, 5 were present in March. Of these 5, 

 2 show changes, neither disjunct. Of the 12 females seen more than once during 

 September through November 7, only 2 show changes and both of these are 

 disjunct, one of 54 and the other of 55 feet, respectively. The young females 

 are very small and thus frequently missed, and, as the mapping technique was too 

 crude to show very small shifts, these records understate the amount of change. 

 Even so, these young females seem to be more stable than the young males, at 

 least in terms of long distance shifts. 



Though the activity ranges of young A. lineatopus are more liable to change 

 than those of the adults, the lizards do not usually wander randomly. The brush 

 heap area included the areas of 6 small females and 1 small male. Between 

 January 23 and February 23 4 of these 6 females shifted their activity ranges 

 but in each case only to an adjacent area. 



In one of these 4 shifts, the lizard was chased from her original activity range 

 by another A. lineatopus. In the other 3 cases, the causes of the shifts are un- 

 known but may relate to the changing requirements of the lizards with age and 

 growth. 



