Size but not relatedness drives the spatial distribution of males within an urban population of Anolis carolinensis lizards.

Abstract

The way that individuals are spatially organized in their environment is a fundamental population characteristic affecting social structure, mating system, and reproductive ecology. However, for many small or cryptic species, the factors driving the spatial distribution of individuals within a population are poorly understood and difficult to quantify. We combined microsatellite data, remote sensing, and mark–recapture techniques to test the relative importance of body size and relatedness in determining the spatial distribution of male Anolis carolinensis individuals within a focal population over a five‐year period. We found that males maintain smaller home ranges than females. We found no relationship between male body size and home range size, nor any substantial impact of relatedness on the geographic proximity. Instead, the main driver of male spatial distribution in this population was differences in body size. We also found no evidence for offspring inheritance of their parent's territories. Males were never sampled within their father's territory providing strong support for male‐biased dispersal. This study introduces a novel approach by combining standard mark release capture data with measures of pairwise relatedness, body size, and GPS locations to better understand the factors that drive the spatial distribution of individuals within a population.