A COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS OF THE ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MAXIMAL LOCOMOTOR PERFORMANCE IN CARIBBEAN ANOLIS LIZARDS

We examined the sprinting and jumping capabilities of eight West India n Anolis species during three natural activities (escape from a predat or, feeding, and undisturbed activity). We then compared these field d ata with maximal performance under optimal laboratory conditions to an swer three questions: (1) Has maximal (i.e., laboratory) sprinting and jumping performance coevolved with field performance among species? ( 2) What proportion of their maximum capabilities do anoles sprint and jump in different ecological contexts? (3) Does a relationship exist b etween maximal sprinting and jumping ability and the proportion of max imal performance used in these contexts? Among species, maximal speed is tightly positively correlated with sprinting performance during bot h feeding and escape in the field. Sprinting speed during escape close ly matches maximal sprinting ability (i.e., about 90% of maximum perfo rmance). By contrast, sprinting performance during undisturbed activit y is markedly lower (about 32% of maximum) than maximal sprinting perf ormance. Sprinting ability during feeding is intermediate (about 71% o f maximum) between field escape and field undisturbed activity. In con trast to sprinting ability, jumping ability is always substantially le ss than maximum (about 40% of maximum during feeding and undisturbed a ctivity). A negative relationship exists among species between maximal speed and the proportion to which species sprint to their maximal abi lities during field escape.