Meeting Abstract

28.4  Monday, Jan. 4  How Does Spatial Variation in Climate Cause Spatiotemporal Patterns in Lizard Energetics? POWERS, S.D.*; ANDERSON, R.A.; Western Washington University; Western Washington University seandpowers@gmail.com

A lizard’s ability to be active and to acquire food for growth, storage, and reproduction is expected to be seasonally constrained by the complex, dynamic set of phenomena that comprise climate. Hence variation in climate among locales should vary in how they constrain lizard activity and production. The western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) occupies a diversity of ecosystems from southern California to central Washington. Two locales that contrasted markedly in climate in Washington state, in the northern end of the species’ geographic range, are coastal temperate forest and the warm, dry pine-oak woodland of the state’s interior. How S. occidentalis is affected by this geographic “climate change” was examined by correlating daily and seasonal patterns of temperature, precipitation, and cloud cover with the patterns of lizard daily activity and energy expenditure, feeding rates and food availability along with related aspects of lizard population structure. The woodland population appears to have longer activity season and more daily activity time compared to the costal population. The longer activity seems to provide more time for these lizards to allocate more energy towards growth and reproduction. While it would seem the woodland population has a more optimum climate, the warmer summer months are more energetically expensive in comparison to the coastal population, which has a more productive environment than the dry pine-oak woodland. Currently, the optimum climates for this species are not known, but future investigations of elevational and mesic-xeric gradients may enable predictions of population structure and population density patterns in the face of climate change.