Behavioral Partitioning by the Native LizardAnolis carolinensisin the Presence and Absence of the InvasiveAnolis sagreiin Florida

Abstract

Abstract Animals are known to engage in different behaviors in different parts of their home range, and the overall habitat occupied by an individual influences where it engages in particular behaviors. However, few studies have investigated how changes in habitat use alter the partitioning of an animal's behaviors into different microhabitats. In eastern Florida, the native lizard Anolis carolinensis is known to change its habitat use in the presence of invasive Anolis sagrei by perching higher in the canopy. We assessed behavioral partitioning in island populations of A. carolinensis that are sympatric with A. sagrei compared with islands where A. carolinensis is allopatric. We found that individuals of A. carolinensis exhibited behavioral partitioning, feeding relatively lower and displaying relatively higher than their initial perch height in both the presence and absence of A. sagrei. However, the relative locations chosen for feeding and displaying were not affected by the presence of A. sagrei, sug...