Keywords
predator avoidance
Iguanidae
Anolinae
territoriality
habitat use
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Copyright (c) 2025 Martín Carrera
Abstract
The selection of sleeping perches plays a critical role in predator avoidance, territorial defense, access to feeding areas, and reaching breeding sites. This behavior has been widely studied across various taxa, including the diverse lizard genus Anolis. For Anolis gemmosus, however, only one previous study has addressed sleeping perch selection, focusing solely on physical variables of the perches. In this study, we incorporate additional variables—such as the sex and size of the lizards—and assess their effect on perch type and leaf area. Our results reveal a significant relationship between individual size, particularly in males, and perch area. This pattern may reflect strategies for predator avoidance, or territory maintenance, or may simply result from the higher availability of leaves within a specific range of area in the habitat of A. gemmosus.
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