DOI: 10.5061/dryad.f950c
title: Data from: Abiotic constraints on the activity of tropical lizards

description: Many tropical ectotherms are considered vulnerable to anthropogenic
 climate change because they have evolved to become thermal specialists.
 Indeed, several recent studies have suggested that even small increases in
 mean operative temperature may lead to a reduction in activity and the
 subsequent extinction of populations. Within the tropics, lizards are
 considered particularly vulnerable due to the potential for climate change
 to directly impact physiology and alter community interactions. However,
 models usually focus on the effects of mean operative temperature at the
 expense of other climate variables that may also affect lizard physiology.
 We used daily variation in operative temperature, humidity, and wind speed
 to examine how changes in climate influence activity in two species of
 lizards from the island of Cayo Menor, Honduras. Anolis lemurinus is a
 forest species, whereas A. allisoni is an open-habitat species. We
 conducted daily surveys for active lizards in habitat typical to each
 species, while simultaneously measuring operative thermal environments
 with physical models. The effects of the thermal environment were
 considered in the context of the thermal sensitivity of sprint speed for
 each species, and compared with the effects of the hydric (humidity) and
 convective (wind) environments. When all surveys were combined into a
 single analysis, the activity of the forest species Anolis lemurinus was
 positively correlated with wind speed, the spatial heterogeneity of
 operative temperature, and the mismatch between mean operative temperature
 and the optimal temperature for sprint performance. Mean operative
 temperature did significantly effect Anolis lemurinus activity, but only
 when it was above their thermal optimum. Activity of the open-habitat
 species A. allisoni was negatively correlated with wind speed, but was not
 related to any other climate variable. Whereas the mismatch between mean
 operative temperature and the thermal optimum for performance predicted
 the activity level of the forest species in ways partially consistent with
 its use in models for the response of lizards to climate change, the
 effects of the abiotic environment were habitat-dependent. Our results
 suggest that successfully predicting the biological impacts of climate
 change will require holistic models that account for more than changes in
 mean temperature alone.
description: Activity
 dataTotal number of Anolis
 lizards found on 4 transects in 2011 and 2 transects in 2012 on the Island
 of Cayo Menor, Honduras. This file includes the mean operative
 temperature, the spatial heterogeneity of operative temperature (variance
 among OTM means), the difference between mean operative temperature and
 the thermal optimum for each species, the mean wind speed, and the mean
 absolute humidity for each survey on each transect across both
 years.Sprint speeds_Anolis
 allisoniThis data file contains
 the sprint speeds of Anolis allisoni individuals at 6 body temperatures.
 These data were used to construct a thermal performance curve for Anolis
 allisoni.Sprint speeds_Anolis
 lemurinusThis data file contains
 the sprint speeds of Anolis lemurinus individuals at 6 body temperatures.
 These data were used to construct a thermal performance curve for Anolis
 lemurinus.