Meeting Abstract
When resources become concentrated in space, the perceived risk of predation can prevent prey from accessing those resources. We studied both the thermoregulatory and foraging behavior s of male lizards (Sceloporus jarrovi) under the perceived risk of a predator in spatially explicit landscapes. In a previous study, these lizards thermoregulated best in landscapes with patchy distributions of shade and the absence of perceived predators, compared to landscapes with clumped distributions and/or perceived predators over a 2-day period. But do these differing thermoregulatory strategies persist over time? And if so, do they impose differing physiological costs? To test these ideas, males were placed in outdoor arenas (20 x 20 m) with either a clumped or patchy distribution of shade and exposed to an artificial aerial predator (Buteo jamaicensis) for 14-days. Additionally, a food patch containing cups of beetle larvae (Tenebrio molitor) was placed in each arena to prevent food from being a limiting factor. However, these food patches were placed in open areas, forcing lizards to make foraging and thermoregulatory decisions while in the presence of an artificial predator. We predicted that lizards would again have greater thermoregulatory performances in patchy environments compared to clumped environments, which should result in increased foraging performance, and thus reduced physiological costs. We will report the interactive effects between thermal landscapes and predation risk on the costs of varying foraging and thermoregulatory performances by these lizards.
