Meeting Abstract
The northward spread of non-native reptiles is often limited by low minimum temperatures as latitude increases. Man-made structures, however, create novel thermal environments that maintain higher temperatures than surrounding natural areas. These structures may provide a suitable habitat for non-native reptiles, allowing them to extend their range. A population of Cuban brown anoles, Anolis sagrei, have been occupying a series of greenhouses in Auburn, Alabama, since at least 2006. The greenhouses are farther north than most other main populations of brown anoles in Florida, but temperatures can exceed 45°C on the inside during the summer months (a temperature near or above the critical thermal maximum for many reptiles). We set out to collect data on the thermoregulatory behavior of these lizards both inside and outside the greenhouses during summer months. We placed iButton data loggers on varying substrates to collect temperatures. We also conducted visual surveys by walking transects and recording lizard sightings inside and around the greenhouses. Preliminary results suggest that anole behavior is uncharacteristically crepuscular; they are more active inside the greenhouses during the cooler morning and evening hours. Instead of traveling outside during mid-day when temperatures are the warmest, they appear to be utilizing a variety of substrates to thermoregulate. During the winter months, similar data will be collected to discover how this population survives as outside temperatures drop much lower than they would experience in the lower latitudes of their non-native range.
