Abstract
We analyzed the impact of interspecific
interactions between two ecologically and morphologically distinct Puerto
Rican lizards, Anolis gundlachi and A. evermanni, in an experimental
design consisting of six 20 x 20 m plots divided into thre blocks, each
consisting of a pair of experimental and control plots. We removed
A.
gundlachi from experimental plots and monitored the response of A.
evermanni. The reduction in the number of A. gundlachi
resulted in a significant increase in the abundance of both adult and juvenile
A.
evermanni. We found no evidence for a shift in structural habitat
use in A. evermanni in experimental plots. Two possible mechanisms,
interspecific competition and intraguild predation, could explain the increase
in abundance of A. evermanni after the removal of A. gundlachi.
These results make clear that interactions still occur between A. gundlachi
and A. evermanni even given their morphological and ecological differences.