The Relationship between Food and Social Behavior in Juvenile Lizards (Anolis aeneus)

Abstract

The responses of Anolis aeneus juveniles to short term and long term changes in food abundance were investigated in the field and the laboratory. Juveniles were provisioned with termites in the field, and maintained on variable or constant food regimes in the laboratory. Seasonal differences in aggressive response to intruders were also investigated. The most consistent immediate response to a change in food supply was an increase in display rate. Home range sizes also changed directly after provisioning; the direction of change depended on food distribution. There were few long term behavioral responses to different food levels. The aggressive response to territorial intruders was nearly identical in the wet and dry season despite four-fold seasonal differences in food abundance. Home range sizes did not change as a result of long term provisioning nor were home range sizes related to food abundance in the laboratory. However, there were distinct seasonal differences in the response to long term provisioning: lizards ignored added food in the wet season and there were no resultant changes in social behavior; in the dry season, juveniles avidly ate the added food, and the immigration rate increased and remained high throughout provisioning.