Anoline Diversity in Three Differentially Altered Habitats in the Sierra de Baoruco, República Dominicana, Hispaniola1

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe examined three disturbed, but distinctly different, sites on the historically forested eastern slope of the Sierra de Baoruco, Provincia de Barahona, República Dominicana, in order to evaluate the impact of habitat alteration on the composition of anoline lizard communities. Five species of Anolis (A. bahorucoensis, A. barahonae, A. coelestinus, A. sybotes, A. distichus) are known to occur in the immediate area of our study sites. Only three were found in the most substantially altered clear‐cut site, whereas all five species occupied the most heterogeneous habitat, a coffee plantation characterized by a three‐tiered canopy. Similarly, numbers of individuals of all but one species were greatest in the plot that most closely resembled the natural forests in this area. Calculated niche breadths, based on analysis of stomach contents, of the three species found in all sites increased with the degree of habitat alteration. The higher number of A. coelestinus in more heavily altered sites may be attributed to density compensation.