Mark A. Paulissen

Effects of bacterial lipopolysaccharide on thermoregulation in green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis).

Fever is a non-specific host defense mechanism that comprises part of the innate immune response. Innate immune function is thought to be an important adaptive immunological response to infection because it occurs across a broad diversity of phyla. Some reptiles can mount a febrile response, despite the fact that their internal body temperatures (T(b)s) are, to some extent, controlled by the environmental temperatures in which they live. This study was undertaken to determine if LPS would induce fever in green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis). Lizards were maintained in thermal gradients (22-45 degrees C) with a 12-h diurnal cycle. anoles were injected with LPS, pyrogen-free saline, or left untreated, and their T(b)s were recorded every 15min using internal cloacal probes. All lizards showed a diurnal periodicity in T(b) characterized by decreased temperatures during the scotophase (dark hours) and higher temperatures during the photophase (light phase). Anoles injected with LPS exhibited a hypothermic response, relative to untreated and saline-injected animals. The response varied from 2.1 to 4.6 degrees C lower than control lizards. The hypothermic response was initiated within 12-24h of LPS injection, and continued for 3 days after treatment. However, the anapyrexic response was observed primarily during scotophases, with photophase hypothermia observed only on the first day after LPS injection.

Ontogenetic comparison of body temperature selection and thermal tolerance of Cnemidophorus sexlineatus

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Hybrids of Two Parthenogenetic Clonal Complexes and a Gonochoristic Species of Cnemidophorus, and the Relationship of Hybridization to Habitat Characteristics

Cnemidophorus laredoensis comprises two allodiploid parthenogenetic clonal complexes. LAR-A(2n) includes C. laredoensis as originally described from Laredo and many recently discovered populations in other parts of Texas and Mexico. LAR-B(2n), discovered in 1984, also has been recently reported from both sides of the Rio Grande, including many sites here LAR-A(2n) does not occur. Seven hybrid female and 16 hybrid male LAR-A(2n) x C. gularis (gonochoristic) were collected at 11 sites in Texas and Mexico; three hybrid female LAR-B(2n) x C. gularis were collected at three sites in Texas and Mexico. All hybrids were distinguishable on the basis of color pattern and scutellation. Also, two unusually large females exhibited the effects of heterosis in body size, and one putative hybrid captured alive was triploid. Cytogenetic and/or behavioral mechanisms in LAR-B(2n) are apparently more resistant to hy- bridization than in LAR-A(2n) under identical habitat conditions. The production of hybrids, especially those of LAR-A(2n) x C. gularis, is closely related to disturbed habitat structure and/or relative abundance of syntopic whiptail forms, allowing increased contact between the parental forms. Hybrid LAR-A(2n) x C. gularis were most often found at sites where confined space intensified the interactions between the parental forms, at sites where large numbers of male C. gularis came into contact with the few female LAR-A(2n) present, and at sites where large numbers of female LAR-A(2n) came into contact with the few male C gularis present.

DIET OF SYMPATRIC PATTERN CLASSES C AND E OF THE PARTHENOGENETIC WHIPTAIL LIZARD ASPIDOSCELIS TESSELATA AT SUMNER LAKE, DE BACA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

Abstract The diploid checkered whiptail lizard, Aspidoscelis tesselata, is a parthenogenetic species that occupies semiarid habitats in the southwestern USA. It comprises several morphologically distinct pattern classes that occasionally coexist within the same geographical area. Two pattern classes, C and E, coexist on both sides of Sumner Lake and the Pecos River in Sumner Lake State Park, De Baca County, New Mexico. Individuals of pattern class C are larger than individuals of pattern class E (they also produce larger clutches and take longer to reach reproductive maturity). Herein we present analyses of the stomach contents of specimens collected at Sumner Lake to determine if these 2 pattern classes show differences in their diets. Termites made up over 70% of the prey items found in the stomachs of both pattern classes, but when analyzed by volume, the most important prey were cicadas, planthoppers, and short-horned grasshoppers for pattern class C, and short-horned grasshoppers, cicadas, long-horned grasshoppers, termites, and scarab beetles for pattern class E. Considering prey other than termites, pattern class C lizards tended to consume larger prey items than did pattern class E lizards. Aside from this size-related difference, the diet of the 2 pattern classes at Sumner Lake was similar. This lends support to the hypothesis that body size and reproductive differences between the 2 pattern classes are genetically based.

Movement Patterns and Sociality of the Mediterranean Gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, in Southwestern Louisiana

Abstract The Mediterranean gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, is a nonnative lizard that lives on buildings and other artificial structures in the southern United States. Previous studies have shown that geckos rarely move from one building to another and that, when they do, it is usually due to juveniles dispersing to new buildings. Little is known about the movements of geckos on the buildings they occupy or about the degree to which males and females or adults and juveniles associate with each other during their nocturnal activity periods. We used data from a multi-year, mark-recapture study of a population of Mediterranean geckos on a one-story building in southwestern Louisiana to analyze movements of geckos between recaptures and to analyze age and sex of pairs of geckos. The distance moved by adult geckos between recaptures was usually small (<5 m) regardless of whether the time between recaptures was <30 days, >30 days within a year, or in succeeding years. There was no difference in patterns of movement between adult males and adult females. Occasionally, adult geckos did make long-distance movements of ≥18 m, but these were often followed by movements back to their starting point. Juvenile geckos generally moved greater distances between recaptures than did adults, perhaps as a means of dispersal to a new area on the building. Juvenile geckos were associated with adult geckos in pairs less frequently than expected whereas the number of same-sex and different-sex pairs of adults did not differ from expectations if males and females associated randomly. Overall, the results present a picture of juveniles moving long distances, perhaps to escape contacts with adults, but typically remaining in their home areas for months or years once they become adults. Resumen El geco casero del Mediterráneo, Hemidactylus turcicus, es una lagartija no nativa que vive en los edificios y en otras estructuras artificiales en el sur de los Estados Unidos. Estudios previos han mostrado que los gecos raramente se mueven de un edificio al otro, y que cuando lo hacen, usualmente son los juveniles los que se dispersan a nuevos edificios. Poco se sabe sobre los movimientos de los gecos en los edificios que ocupan o sobre el grado en que machos y hembras o adultos y juveniles se asocian entre si durante sus periodos de actividad nocturna. Usamos datos de varios años de un estudio de marca-recaptura de una población de gecos caseros del Mediterráneo en un edificio de un piso en el suroeste de Louisiana para analizar los movimientos de los gecos entre recapturas y analizar la edad y el sexo de pares de gecos. La distancia recorrida por los gecos adultos entre recapturas fue por lo general pequeña (<5 m), sin importar si el tiempo entre recapturas era <30 días, >30 días dentro de un año o en los años sucesivos. No hubo diferencia en los patrones de movimiento entre adultos machos y hembras. Ocasionalmente, los gecos adultos hicieron desplazamientos de una distancia larga de ≥18 m, pero estos fueron frecuentemente seguidos por movimientos de vuelta hacia el punto de partida. Los gecos juveniles por lo general recorrían distancias más grandes entre recapturas que los adultos, tal vez como un medio de dispersarse hacia una nueva área en el edificio. Los gecos juveniles fueron asociados en pares con los gecos adultos menos frecuentemente de lo esperado, mientras el número de los pares del mismo sexo y diferente sexo no se diferenciaron en las expectativas si es que los machos y hembras se asociaban al azar. En fin, los resultados presentan una imagen de juveniles desplazándose por largas distancias, quizás para evitar contacto con los adultos, pero típicamente permaneciendo en sus hogares por meses o años una vez que se convierten en adultos.

Laboratory Study of Escape Tactics of Parthenogenetic and Gonochoristic Cnemidophorus from Southern Texas

Obligate parthenogenesis is rare in animals, especially vertebrates (Bell, 1982). Nonetheless, the existence of parthenogenesis in a world dominated by sexually reproducing species has motivated evolutionary biologists to expend considerable effort trying to explain why parthenogenesis exists at all, and given that it does exist, why is it not more common (Michod and Levin, 1988; Vrijenhoek, 1989; Ladle, 1992). This effort has produced a large body of theory, much of it focusing on the hypothetical advantages and disadvantages derived from the parthenogenetic mode of reproduction by an allfemale species compared with sexual reproduction by gonochoristic (= bisexual) species (Michod and Levin, 1988; Price et al., 1993, and references therein). The lizard genus Cnemidophorus provides an excellent opportunity to conduct comparative studies because nearly one-third of the species are obligate parthenogens, all apparently originating from hybrids between two or more gonochoristic species (Wright, 1993). Furthermore, most of these parthenogens coexist with gonochoristic congeners (Case, 1990; Paulissen et al., 1992, and references therein), making it possible to compare species within the same conditions. Some recent studies have attempted to identify a correlation between reproductive mode and lizard antipredator behavior. For example, in a study conducted in New Mexico, Price (1992) found that the parthenogenetic species C. tesselatus was more approachable, less cautious, and presumably more vulnerable to predators that the gonochoristic species C. tigris marmoratus (= C. marmoratus). However, in a similar study conducted in southern Texas, Paulissen (1995) found no significant differences in approachability or frequency of various escape behaviors used by two parthenogens of the C. laredoensis complex and the gonochoristic species C. gularis and concluded that all these species were equally vulnerable to predators. These contrasting results suggest there is no consistent correlation between reproductive mode and vulnerability to predators. However, both studies measured only one component of lizard antipredator behavior, namely wariness (Snell et al., 1988). Locomotion, including speed, stamina, and directness of the route taken to a refuge (i.e., straight line or zig-zag), is also a key component of a lizards antipredator repertoire (Snell et al., 1988). This may be particularly important for Cnemidophorus lizards in southern Texas because their most

ASPIDOSCELIS SEXLINEATA (SAURIA: TEIIDAE) IN MEXICO: DISTRIBUTION, HABITAT, MORPHOLOGY, AND TAXONOMY

Abstract We report on Aspidoscelis sexlineata (six-lined racerunner) from the four known sites of occurrence in Mexico, one being a southward range extension of 74.3 km for the species. These sites are situated in the extreme eastern part of the municipality of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and are nearest to records for the species in the United States for Brazos Island-South Padre Island, Cameron County, Texas. In both regions, A. sexlineata occurs a short distance from the seashore in habitats formed and influenced by perturbations of hurricanes and the maritime climate of the Gulf of Mexico (e.g., sand dunes devoid of congeners with openings in halophytic vegetation). Samples of A. sexlineata from Tamaulipas are statistically similar to those from South Padre Island in two meristic characters, one ratio, and snout–vent length, but significantly different in one meristic character and one ratio involving color pattern. Because similarities among specimens from the plains of southern Texas, South Padre Island, and Tamaulipas are strongly indicated, it is reasonable to allocate the three groups to A. sexlineata stephensae, Texas yellow-headed racerunner.

Diet of Diploid and Triploid Populations of Parthenogenetic Whiptail Lizards of the Cnemidophorus tesselatus Complex (Teiidae) in Southeastern Colorado

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BREADTH AND OVERLAP OF DIET BETWEEN SYNTOPIC POPULATIONS OF PARTHENOGENETIC ASPIDOSCELIS TESSELATA C AND GONOCHORISTIC ASPIDOSCELIS SEXLINEATA (SQUAMATA: TEIIDAE) IN SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO

Abstract Parthenogenetic Aspidoscelis tesselata (pattern class C) reaches the northern limit of its distribution in Ninemile Valley, Otero County, Colorado. Its coexistence with gonochoristic A. sexlineata permitted comparison of diets between species of different sizes, reproductive modes, and evolutionary histories. Based on numbers of prey in stomachs, A. sexlineata had a broader diet than A. tesselata C in June and July; however, breadth of diets calculated from volumes of prey were nearly the same for the two species. Despite the larger size of A. tesselata C, dietary resources were not partitioned by size and foods present exclusively in one species were rare in its diet. Overlap of diets in June could be explained by chance, but this was not true for July. Remarkably high dietary overlap in July resulted from both species taking advantage of an annual surge in abundance of grasshoppers. There was no evidence that either species was affected adversely by presence of the other.

Growth Rates of the Mediterranean Gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, in Southwestern Louisiana

Abstract. We captured and marked Mediterranean geckos, Hemidactylus turcicus, occupying a one-story building in southwestern Louisiana in 1999–2000 and 2002–2005 and calculated 2 estimates of growth rate: length growth rate (difference in snout—vent length [SVL] between captures divided by time between captures) and mass growth rate (difference in gecko mass between captures divided by time between captures). Both length growth rate and mass growth rate were significantly negatively correlated with gecko snout—vent length. When data from all years were combined, adult female geckos showed greater mean length growth rates and mean mass growth rates than males, but the trend was not statistically significant. Length growth rate and mass growth rate varied dramatically between years; neither correlated with yearly differences in rainfall. Comparison of our results to studies done in Texas and Florida showed that Mediterranean geckos in Louisiana had the lowest mean length growth rates and a much wider range of variation.