62 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 122 



Thus far, predictability of dispute outcomes has been discussed 

 only as a useful way of describing aggressive encounters in A. line- 

 ato-pus and of using relative size of anole and place of occurrence as 

 useful information for predicting. Certain aspects of the behavior 

 of these lizards suggest that the latter two topics have a more funda- 

 mental biological meaning. 



I have used predictability to mean that an outside observer could 

 foretell the outcome of a dispute. In a large majority of the aggres- 

 sive encounters I have observed, the lizards behaved as if they them- 

 selves were doing the same thing, i.e., predicting the outcome of the 

 dispute. Most disputes were very brief and consisted of one anole 

 retreating as soon as it was threatened or attacked by another or 

 retreating at the approach of another even though the latter showed 

 no aggressive behavior. Disputes wherein both lizards displayed, 

 i.e., behaved aggressively, seldom resulted in physical combat, and 

 usually one lizard retreated without actually testing the strength of 

 its opponent. Even in the fiercest physical combats that I observed, 

 prolonged fights between adult males, fighting was restricted almost 

 entirely to the ritualized jaw wrestling. I have never seen a fight 

 that ended with one anole dead or even physically exhausted. 



I am, of course, not suggesting that these lizards are consciously 

 weighing their chances of winning an encounter. The data, however, 

 shows that they are behaving as if they had done so. Phrased dif- 

 ferently: A dispute may not be decided by the dispute itself but by 

 the reactions of the individuals involved to circumstances surround- 

 ing the dispute, and these reactions may be determined before the 

 dispute starts. Because the lizards themselves behave as if they were 

 predicting the outcome, "predictability of dispute outcome" is more 

 than a convenient way of describing agonistic behavior; it seems to 

 be an important biological or psychological aspect of agonistic 

 behavior. 



Having suggested that A. lineatopus frequently behave as if they 

 are predicting outcomes, it is possible to ask if they are using the 

 same information that I have found useful. Phrased differently: 

 Are the place where two lizards meet and their relative size important 

 stimuli in determining their behavior in the dispute situations? I 

 think the answer is a qualified yes. Careful experiments would be 

 necessary to demonstrate that this is true, but the field observations 

 certainly suggest it. 



That a Uzard is more likely to attack an opponent, less likely to 

 flee, and will travel farther to attack when the opponent is in the 

 resident's home range (and particularly when it is on the resident's 

 usual perches) strongly suggests that place of encounter has an 

 important effect on the aggressive behavior of the animal. 



