FOLIVORY ON ISLANDS WITH AND WITHOUT INSECTIVOROUS LIZARDS - AN 8-YEAR STUDY

Sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera) leaf damage was measured on 11 islands w ith diurnal lizards (Anolis sagrei) and on 7 islands without diurnal l izards from 1986 to 1993. Two types of damage were common: scars (necr otic areas) and holes (entirely missing areas). A static measure in 19 86 showed that both scar and hole damage tended to be higher on island s without lizards than on islands with lizards, but only the differenc e in holes was significant. A dynamic measure that followed tagged lea ves each year from 1986 to 1993 showed that overall damage was higher on islands without lizards than on islands with lizards. Island area a nd isolation were not related to leaf damage. Total leaf damage varied substantially among years, and the temporal pattern of scars differed significantly from that of holes. Mortality of tagged leaves varied s ubstantially among years, but it was nearly identical on islands with and without lizards. Overall, this study showed that sea grape on enti rely natural islands was affected positively by lizards and to about t he same magnitude as in previous experimental studies on a large islan d.