64 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 122 



speed with which these pathways are selected suggests the lizard 

 previously has learned the best routes. Anolis lineatopus males Uving 

 on trees almost invariably run up when frightened; those living on 

 fence posts run down. In each case the anole selects without hesita- 

 tion the escape route that takes hun most surely out of danger. 



Residence in an area makes it possible for an A. lineatopus to become 

 f amiUar with the fauna also, to learn good places to watch for insects, 

 and to learn which of the larger animals in the area are potentially 

 dangerous. How important the former element is I do not know, 

 but the changes in reaction to me as a potential predator were striking. 

 Most lizards in the study areas were quite easy to noose the first time 

 I marked them. The next time they were much more difficult. One 

 male became so shy that I could not catch him at all. Most males 

 would allow approach within a few feet but, after several attempts to 

 catch this individual, he would run when I was 30 or 40 feet away. 



The effect of famiharity with an area has been reported in a number 

 of other hzards. Fitch (1956) reports a young Crotaphytus that 

 usually hid under a particular rock. When he removed the rock, the 

 hzard ran to the same spot where the rock had been and seemed 

 confused at the absence of the rock. 



Residence in an area also provides an A. lineatopus with the oppor- 

 tunity to learn to recognize other Hzards as individuals. Evidence 

 that they do this has been discussed. This famiharity w^ith other 

 individuals over long periods provides the opportunity for pair 

 formation and may reduce the severity if not the frequency of agonistic 

 encounters. 



Beyond the advantages arising from the existence of activity 

 ranges, there are a number of advantages that arise from the distri- 

 bution of these acti\dty ranges with respect to one another (Tin- 

 bergen, 1957). 



The first of the two patterns in distribution of activity ranges, the 

 overlapping between adult males and adult females, has an obvious 

 advantage in mating. It helps to insure that there is a mate available 

 for a receptive female and it enables the male to find mates without 

 leaving the area with which he is familiar. It may also facilitate 

 mating by allowing the indi\'iduals to become famihar with each other 

 and so produce some sort of pair bond. 



Interpretation of the adaptive significance of the second pattern, 

 the minimal overlap between the activity ranges of A. lineatopus of 

 the same size and the gradual increase in overlap as the difference in 

 size between individuals becomes greater, is more difficult. 



There are, 1 think, thi-ee major effects of this pattern. Two are 

 closely interrelated and affect the whole population: the distribution 

 of the population with respect to available food and the control of 



