Meeting Abstract

13.2  Thursday, Jan. 3  Habitat and sex effects on locomotor performance in lizards SCALES, Jeffrey A.*; LAPPIN, A. Kristopher; MACEDONIA, Joe M.; BUTLER, Marguerite A.; Univ. of Hawaii; California State Polytechnic Univ., Pomona; Florida Southern College; Univ. of Hawaii jscales@hawaii.edu

Habitat use and sex are two factors that commonly affect the morphology and locomotor performance of an organism. However, it is not clear whether ecological adaptation or sex-based morphological differences take precedence, or whether sexes differ in ecological adaptation. Here we examine body shape and locomotor performance in two closely related, but ecologically different species, Crotaphytus dickersonae and Crotaphytus collaris. While they are similar in most aspects of their natural history, C. dickersonae is believed to be a rock specialist, whereas C. collaris is believed to be suited for more general open desert habitats. We examined shape differences relevant to locomotion using morphometric analyses on relative limb and body proportions. We conducted locomotor performance trials using high-speed video to estimate instantaneous acceleration and sprint velocity over a 4m run. We then compared the morphological and performance differences between species and sex to determine how habitat use, sex, and morphology influence locomotor performance.