US ISSN 0006-9698 CAMBRIDGE,MASS.8OCTOBER 2010 NUMBER 520 THE ANOLES OF SOROA: ASPECTS OF THEIR ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS LOURDES RODRI´GUEZ SCHETTINO,1 JONATHAN B. LOSOS,2 PAUL E. HERTZ,3 KEVIN DE QUEIROZ,4 ADA R. CHAMIZO,1 MANUEL LEAL,5 AND VILMA RIVALTA GONZA´ LEZ1 ABSTRACT. Most lizard communities are characterized by having one or two dominant species and a handful of other species that occur at relatively low densities. However, Soroa, a site in the Sierra del Rosario of western Cuba, is home to 11 sympatric species of Anolis, of which nine are found in high abundance. In this study, we evaluate how interspecific differences in structural niche, thermal niche, body size, and behavior might allow the extraordinarily high anole species diversity at this site. We found that all pairs of species differ in at least one of the following niche axes: vegetation types occupied, substrates used, perch height, irradiance at occupied perch sites, and body temperature. Interspecific differences across these axes might serve to reduce competition, allowing the 11 species to live sympatrically within a relatively small geographic area. KEY WORDS: Anolis; Cuba; Soroa; community structure INTRODUCTION structural and climatic habitats of the seven In their pioneering 1969 paper ‘‘The anoles species. They also introduced a classification of La Palma: Aspects of their ecological of structural habitat use, dividing the species relationships,’’ Rand and Williams described into six categories that reflected where adult how seven sympatric Anolis species partition males engage in most of their activities: habitat in the Cordillera Central of the crown anoles, twig anoles, trunk-crown Dominican Republic. Following earlier work anoles, trunk anoles, trunk-ground anoles, by Rand (1964, 1967) and Schoener (1967, and grass-bush anoles. Recognition of these 1968), Rand and Williams examined the ecological differences soon led Williams to 1 Instituto de Ecologı´a y Sistema´tica, CITMA, La Habana, Cuba; e-mail: [email protected] 2 Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, U.S.A.; e-mail: [email protected] 3 Department of Biological Sciences, Barnard College, New York, New York, U.S.A.; e-mail: [email protected] 4 National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, U.S.A.; e-mail: [email protected] 5 Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A.; e-mail: [email protected] E The President and Fellows of Harvard College 2010. 2 BREVIORA No. 520 propose the ecomorph concept: the idea that The literature on resource partitioning in species within a community adapt morpho- tropical lizard communities suggests that the logically and behaviorally to using different use of different perch sites and microhabitats parts of the habitat and that, across com- with different irradiance and thermal proper- munities, similar sets of habitat specialists ties often allows sympatric species to avoid evolve repeatedly (Williams, 1972, 1983). intense interspecific competition (Schoener Although resource partitioning and the and Gorman, 1968; Schoener, 1977; Heat- evolution of convergent ecomorphs have wole, 1982; Williams, 1983; Jenssen et al., been examined in great detail for three of 1988; Hertz, 1991; Losos, 1992; Powell et al., the four islands in the Greater Antilles, our 1996; Leal and Fleishman, 2002). Martı´nez knowledge of Anolis communities in Cuba Reyes (1995) found 11 anole species at Soroa has, until recently, been scant (Williams, and noted that most of them perched on tree 1972, 1983; see review in Losos, 2009). Our trunks or shrubs. In a field trip undertaken in goal in this paper is to provide a description May and June 1997, the authors of the current of the diverse anole fauna at a locality in the contribution collected data on the type, Sierra del Rosario, near the town of Soroa in height, and diameter of the perches selected western Cuba, from the perspective that for all 11 species in early summer. After Rand and Williams developed. Rand and subjecting these data to a principal compo- Williams actually visited Soroa in October nents analysis, we published a short paper on 1981 and June 1983—in the company of niche lability in this lizard community (Losos Lourdes Rodrı´guez Schettino, Julio Novo, et al., 2003). However, neither of the afore- Dale Marcellini, Noel Gonzalez, and Alberto mentioned contributions presented the raw Coy Otero—and drafted a partial manu- data on which the analyses were based. In the script that was never completed. We include current paper, we provide qualitative and a copy of this manuscript as online supple- quantitative descriptions of the natural histo- mentary material. ry and habitat use of the anole species at Soroa Here, we report on parts of the lizard to characterize more thoroughly the compo- community at Soroa, which includes 25 sition and structure of the community. Our lizard species, 24 of which are diurnal observations should be useful as baseline data (Rodrı´guez Schettino et al., 2005). Remark- for detecting potential changes in the natural ably, 11 of these species belong to the clade history of these species as climate change over Anolis; we include within Anolis the subclade the coming decades alters the environment Chamaeleolis (Hass et al., 1993; Jackman et they occupy (Rodrı´guez Schettino and Rivalta al., 1999), which has traditionally been Gonza´lez, 2007; Huey et al., 2009). treated as a separate genus (e.g., Williams, 1976). Thus, at the time we conducted our MATERIALS AND METHODS study, Soroa was home to the highest diversity of anoles yet discovered. More The locality we identify as Soroa encom- recently, Diaz et al. (1998) and Garrido and passes the grounds of the Horizontes Hotel Hedges (2001) have described sites in eastern and the forested area at 700–800 m elevation Cuba that house 15 and 14 anole species, adjacent to a pathway along the Manantiales respectively; some sites in Central America River, ending at the Arco Iris waterfall. It is might be equally species rich (Losos, 2009). located at 22648950N, 83609530W (WGS84) To date, however, none of these communities near the western limit of the Biosphere has received detailed ecological study. Reserve ‘‘Sierra del Rosario’’ in the eastern- 2010 THE ANOLES OF SOROA 3 most part of the Cordillera de Guaniguanico, Lizard Surveys Pinar del Rı´o province, Cuba. Soroa has the During our surveys, we searched for lizards by highest species richness of vertebrates of any walking slowly through disturbed habitats locality in the Reserve, mainly in the adjacent to the hotel (buildings, fences, and a evergreen and gallery forests (Rodrı´guez planted woodland) and through a nearby Schettino et al., 1999). forested area (from the head of the trail across the road from the hotel to the waterfall at the Macrohabitat Types bottom of that trail). We sampled lizards in Because Soroa is an actively used resort, whatever habitats they occupied; for some the site includes buildings, shrubby ‘‘living species, we report data separately for lizards fences,’’ chain-link fencing supported by that occupied natural habitats and those that metal posts, and various other human lived on or around human constructions. constructions (largely concrete) that some Whenever possible, we report data on males Anolis species use as perch sites. The study and females separately; however, it was not site also includes a modest patch of evenly always possible to identify the sex of individual planted Ocuje trees (Callophylum antillarum), Anolis barbatus and Anolis luteogularis observed as well as the three following natural from a distance because these species exhibit vegetation types described by Capote (1989). little sexual size dimorphism and because both Evergreen forest. The canopy layer has males and females have large dewlaps. trees 20–30 m tall. The most abundant All observations were made between 0800 species are Erythrina poeppigiana (bu´care), and 1800 hours over 19 days (May 21 to June Zanthoxilum martinicense (ayu´a), Prunus 8, 1997). Because previous studies of West occidentalis (cuajanı´), Hibiscus elatus (maja- Indian anoles have shown that perch sites gua), C. antillarum (ocuje), Ficus aurea and sun/shade conditions are the resource (jagu¨ey), Cedrela odorata (cedro), Bursera axes that sympatric species most commonly simaruba (alma´cigo), Pseudolmedia spuria partition (e.g., Rand, 1964; Schoener, 1974; (macagua), Oxandra lanceolata (yaya), Ma- Roughgarden et al., 1981), during each tayba apetala (macurije), Roystonea regia excursion, we collected data on the location (palma royal), and Syzygium jambos (pomar- where each lizard was first spotted, including ossa). The understory layer is 3–5 m in the type of substrate (trunk, branch [includ- height; the most abundant understory species ing twigs], leaf, vine, rock, ground, or are Piper aduncum (platanillo de Cuba) and artificial substrate), the height above ground, Psychotria horizontalis (dagame cimarro´n). the diameter of the substrate (no measure- Gallery forest. The canopy layer has trees of ment for ground, walls, or leaves), and the 15–20 m, with many lianas and grasses; the most light conditions (full sun, full shade, or abundant species are S. jambos (pomarossa), C. filtered sun). Lizards that were moving in antillarum (ocuje), Lonchocarpus dominguensis response to our presence when first sighted (guama´),and R. regia (palma royal). were excluded. Some lizards were captured Secondary vegetation. There are canopy, to obtain their body temperatures with a understory, and grass layers with many quick-reading electronic thermocouple ther- individuals of H. elatus (majagua), R. regia mometer (0.16C resolution). We measured (palma royal), Cecropia peltata (yagruma), activity by walking transects at 1.5-h inter- Muntingia calabura (capulı´), Z. martinicense vals throughout 2 days and noting every (ayu´a), and Solanum umbellatum (pendejera). lizard observed within the forest, as well as in 4 BREVIORA No. 520 disturbed habitats (planted ocuje trees, living head bobbing, or performing some other social fence, and chain-link fence).