ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS WITHIN A LIZARD COMMUNITY ON GRENADA

In June 2002, we studied the natural history of Ameiva ameiva and sympatric anoles, Anolis aeneus and A. richardii, in an altered habitat on Grenada to test three predictions regarding intraspecific interactions in Ameiva, intrageneric interactions between anoles, and interfamilial interactions between Ameiva and anoles. Our data generally supported our first prediction that characteristics of an insular population of A. ameiva would essentially mirror those described for other insular populations of West Indian congeners, were less supportive of our second prediction that structural habitat use and diets would indicate interspecific resource partitioning between anoles, and strongly supported our third prediction that anoles would spend less time on the ground when Ameiva were active. Based on tests that indicated that Ameiva were predators of anoles, we suggest that predator-avoidance is the most parsimonious explanation for the apparent adjustments in foraging strategy.