DOI: 10.5061/dryad.55610
title: Data from: Life-history patterns of lizards of the world

description: Identification of mechanisms that promote variation in life history traits
 is critical to understand the evolution of divergent reproductive
 strategies. Here we compiled a large life-history dataset (674 lizard
 populations, representing 297 species from 263 sites globally) to test a
 number of hypotheses regarding the evolution of life history traits in
 lizards. We found significant phylogenetic signal in most life history
 traits, although phylogenetic signal was not particularly high. Climatic
 variables influenced the evolution of many traits, with clutch frequency
 being positively related to precipitation and clutches of tropical lizards
 being smaller than those of temperate species. This result supports the
 hypothesis that in tropical and less seasonal climates, many lizards tend
 to reproduce repeatedly through the season producing smaller clutches
 during each reproductive episode. Our analysis also supported the
 hypothesis that viviparity has evolved in lizards as a response to cooler
 climates. Finally, we also found that variation in trait values explained
 by clade membership is unevenly distributed among lizard clades with basal
 clades and a few younger clades showing most variation. Our global
 analyses are largely consistent with life history theory and previous
 results based on smaller and scattered datasets, suggesting that these
 patterns are remarkably consistent across geographic and taxonomic scales.
description: Life history data of
 lizards of the worldLife is defined by a
 capacity for reproduction, yet the ways in which animals reproduce vary
 tremendously among species. Reproductive life histories are complex
 phenomena influenced by a variety of factors, such as physical condition
 of individuals, food supply, bauplan, and phylogenetic history, which are
 often correlated. Understanding life histories is crucial in evolutionary
 ecology because they represent different strategies that evolved to
 maximize individual fitness. Variation in life history can be attributed
 to both historical (= phylogenetic) and non-historical (= environmental)
 causes. We compiled a large dataset on lizard life history variables. Our
 dataset consists of life history data for 737 lizard populations,
 representing 337 species in 33 families from 280 study sites globally.
 About 64% of these data were collected directly by the authors. Regarding
 data collected by authors, we sexed lizards by dissection and direct
 examination of gonads. Females were considered reproductive if
 vitellogenic follicles or oviductal eggs were present. We regarded the
 simultaneous presence of enlarged vitellogenic follicles and either
 oviductal eggs or corpora lutea as evidence for the sequential production
 of more than one clutch of eggs per year. We considered clutch size as the
 number of vitellogenic follicles or oviductal eggs in mature females. For
 each population, we recorded the following variables, if available: adult
 female mass (g), adult female SVL (mm), female SVL at maturity (based on
 SVL of smallest reproductive female), offspring SVL (based on hatchling
 size or smallest individual in population), clutch or litter size (number
 of offspring per clutch or litter for all reproductive females in the
 population), total number of clutches or litters per year, clutch
 frequency (single- or multiple-brooded), relative clutch or litter mass
 [total volume of eggs or embryos (cc) divided by adult female mass (g)],
 reproductive mode (oviparous or viviparous), foraging mode (sit-and-wait
 or active), distribution (tropical or temperate), and preferred habitat
 type (aquatic, arboreal, bromelicolous, fossorial, psammophilous,
 saxicolous, semi-arboreal, or terrestrial). These data are valuable to
 test various life history hypotheses, including phylogenetic design
 constraints and effects of ecology and climate on reproductive
 tactics.Data
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