JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Ecological Society of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Ecology.Abstract. A conceptual model of Anolis-habitat interactions is proposed to explain the existence of the series of Anolis ecomorphs in the Greater Antilles. The use of perches, type of movement among perches, and the morphology of 7 species of Anolis lizards from 2 sites in Haiti were compared. Movements of anoles through the habitat are assumed to be constrained more by the dispersion of perches rather than the characters of the perches themselves. The habitat is viewed as consisting of three-dimensional structural matrices of perches differing primarily in the diameters, lengths, and distances apart of the perches. Species occupying divergent types of perch matrices are shown to differ in: (I) the rapidity of moves on surfaces, (2) the frequency of jumps between surfaces, and (3) the distances jumped between surfaces. These species can be separated into jumpers, runners, and crawlers based on movement type and various body and limb proportions.The horizontal and vertical distribution of each species within a habitat gradient coincides with the distribution of the particular perch matrices to which the species is adapted. The varying degree of restriction imposed by perch matrices may have important evolutionary implications, particularly for the dispersion of size classes within the habitat and hence for species' exploitation strategies. Applications of this approach to arboreal primates and foliage-gleaning birds are suggested.
Entrained phenology patterns of tropical trees are expected to be sensitive to short‐term fluctuations in typical rainfall and temperature. We examined 47 mo of data on the flowering, fruiting, and new leaf phenology for 797 trees from 38 species in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire. We determined the timing of the phenology cycles in relation to seasonal rainfall, temperature, and solar radiation. Regression analysis was used to examine how variations in rainfall and temperature influenced deviations in the peaks and troughs of phenology cycles. We also investigated whether populations that fruit during periods of community‐wide fruit scarcity were those populations with relatively long‐ or short‐fruiting duration. Flower, fruit, and leaf‐flushing phenophases all exhibited 12‐mo cycles. The broad peak in flowering began with the northward zenithal passing in April and ended with the southward zenithal passing in September. Fruiting peaks occurred in the long dry season, and leaf flushing peaked in the long dry season but continued into the wet season. Deviations from phenology cycles were largely attributable to short‐term fluctuations in rainfall and/or temperature. Fruiting durations of species were related to the mean diameter at breast height. Species with long‐ and short‐fruiting durations contributed equally to fruit abundance during periods of community‐wide fruit scarcity.
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