Meeting Abstract
The Anolis system has become a model example of how animals can become adapted to the locomotor challenges imposed by microhabitat structure. Anolis lizards of the Greater Antilles are categorized into ecomorphs based on external morphological, ecological, and behavioral properties. Although locomotor performance has been analyzed in a number of species, the details of how these species move are lacking. In particular, it is generally unclear how these animals modify their limb movements in order to move successfully when facing changes in incline and perch diameter, common challenges of an arboreal environment. Here, we compare the three-dimensional fore- and hind limb kinematics of six species of anole collected from Puerto Rico: A. krugi and A. pulchellus (grass-bush ecomorphs), A. evermanni and A. stratulus (trunk-crown ecomorphs), and A. cristatellus and A. gundlachi (trunk-ground ecomorphs). We obtained high-speed video of these animals running on two perch diameters, a broad, flat surface and a narrow surface (diameter ~ 1.2 x femur length), inclined at 0°, 30°, and 90°. Although the grass-bush species climbed the vertical, narrow treatment, they had considerable difficulty climbing up the vertical, broad surface. In contrast, several A. stratulus individuals climbed the vertical, broad surface, but were unable to climb the vertical, narrow perch, preferring to jump off the perch and climb the wall instead. Further, most A. gundlachi individuals preferred to hop along the broad surface at the shallow inclines but consistently ran on the broad surface at the vertical incline. The detailed limb kinematics, when combined with upcoming muscle physiology experiments, will provide insight into when and how these species modulate their locomotor behavior to move successfully in a complex, arboreal environment.
