Effects of temperature and sex on jump performance and biomechanics in the lizardAnolis carolinensis

Abstract

SummaryTemperature is known to affect whole‐organism performance capacities significantly in ectotherms, but may potentially alter performance kinematics as well. Locomotor performance is a multivariate phenomenon, hence changes in temperature are probably reflected in multiple aspects of locomotion.We studied the thermal sensitivity of several kinetic and kinematic jump variables, including acceleration and power output, in male and female green anole lizards,Anolis carolinensisVoigt 1832. We hypothesized that temperature would have similar effects on kinetic and kinematic variables.We also tested the hypotheses that males and females would differ in jump performance, but only because of sexual dimorphism for body size, and that males and females would also differ in optimal performance temperature and body temperature (Tb) maintained in the field.Both kinetic and kinematic jump variables exhibited significant temperature dependence, as expected, suggesting that overall jump dynamics are altered by temperature in green anoles. Power, in particular, increased markedly over the 15–25 °C temperature range in males.Sex differences in jumping were driven largely by sexual dimorphism in body size. However, females exhibited significantly narrower thermal tolerance ranges than males, although they maintained aTbsimilar to males in the field.These data illustrate the necessity of carefully controllingTbduring jumping experiments at single temperatures in ectotherms, as temperature affects a suite of kinematic and biomechanical traits determining overall jump performance.