A DATA SET is a series of observations collected by the same methodology. Each data set should have documentation sufficient for someone unfamiliar with the research to replicate the study. Data sets may be broken into subsets (data files) that are discrete in space and time, in that order. The documentation for a data set should include all spatial and temporal subdivisions of the data.

(Data, Abstract, Methods, Variables)

NOTES:

• Add rows to tables or lines to paragraphs as you need them for entering your data.
• Contact emelendez@lternet.edu if you have any question.
• See online Guidelines (http://luq.lternet.edu/datamng/imdocs/division.html) to help you fill this form

PERSON(S) COMPLETING THIS FORM: E-MAIL ADDRESS:

DATA SET IDENTIFIER: Anole Vertical Transects (tower DATA)

PROJECT TITLE: Anole Population Dynamics

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The population activity, abundance, density, and spatial distribution of anoline lizards (genus Anolis) were investigated in tabonuco rain forest of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico. A summary of the aspects of anole biology relevant to food web structure and organization in tabonuco forest were developed from these studies.

The anole activity in different habitats was studied in relation to the changes in canopy structure before and after Hurricane Hugo (September 1989). The drastic reduction in canopy structure immediately following the hurricane confined anole activity to the lower few meters of the forest. Anolis stratulus, a canopy species, apparently responded to changes in microclimate. Relative abundance estimates based on vertical transect surveys were A. stratulus (82%), A. gundlachi (11%), and A. evermanni (7%). Vertical surveys documented that A. stratulus was the most abundant anole species in the forest and inhabited the canopy at estimated population densities of 25,870ñ 7005 (dry season) and 21,333 ñ 6638 (wet season) individuals/ha. Field studies demonstrated the importance of small diameter perches in the structural habitat of this species. Individual A. stratulus occupy small, ellipsoidal home ranges and/or territories (males only) with a mean diameter of 6.2 ñ 1.2 m layered within the 10-14 m thick canopy. This three-dimensional habitat partitioning has not previously been noted for a vertebrate species and may account for the ability of A. stratulus to reach extremely high population densities.

On Caribbean islands where there are no large animals such as those found in mainland ecosystems (e.g., tapirs, jaguars), anoles constitute a substantial portion of the total animal biomass. Their abundance, widespread ecological distribution, and functional role as higher order consumers make them important components of insular animal communities throughout the Caribbean. Recent studies have demonstrated their importance in structuring food webs on Caribbean islands (Schoener and Toft 1983; Schoener and Spiller 1987), and Reagan (1986) described the role of anoles as important consumers in the food web of tabonuco forest at El Verde.

LTER CORE AREAS: (Annotate all that apply)

Population Dynamics

LEF LTER 1 RESEARCH TOPIC: (Annotate all that apply)

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Populations

We define a data file as a component of a data set. A data set can have only one data file or more. Basically, different data files have different data structures or format.
DATA SET FILES (SUBSETS):

Data File No.	Data File Identifier	On-Line Filename	Starting Date	Periodicity of sample	End Period
1	El Verde South Walkway Tower (Gap tower )	AnoleVerticalEV-S.txt	9 January 1989	wet and dry seasons (when towers are in place)	22 October 1992
2	El Verde North Walkway Tower (Forest tower)	AnoleVerticalEV-N.txt	9 January 1989	wet and dry seasons (when towers are in place)	22 October 1992
3	El Verde Old Tower Transect (Odum tower)	AnoleVerticalEV-OldTower.txt	9 January 1989	wet	9 January 1989
4	Bisley tower (Original and Ridge)	AnoleVerticalBisley.txt	9 January 1989	wet and dry seasons (when towers are in place)	23 October 1992

RESEARCH LOCATION: El Verde Study Area, Bisley Study Area

INVESTIGATORS:

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS E-MAIL address

Douglas Reagan

Douglas_Reagan@urscorp.com

OTHER RESEARCHERS E-MAIL address

CONTACT PERSONS E-MAIL address Phone Number (Include area code)

Doug Reagan

Douglas_Reagan@urscorp.com

(303)688-0754

SOURCE OF FUNDING (SPONSOR): NSF - LEF LTER

DATA SET ABSTRACTS: Transects are conducted to note the vertical distribution and relative abundance of anole species. Data permit the calculation of average sighting distance for each species which is used in the final calculation of abundance.

DATA SET METHODS: Transects are conducted by slowly walking up each tower and recording the following information fore each lizard observed: species, sex/age, perch height, perch substrate, perch diameter, and distance from centerline. Three replicate transects are conducted during each season; one survey at each of three times of day (morning, midday, and late afternoon).

REFERENCES:
Overton, W.S. 1971. Estimating the numbers of animals in wildlife populations. in R.H. Giles, Jr., ed. Wildlife Management Techniques. Wildlife Society, Washington, D.C.

CROSS-REFERENCES (other data sets related to this one): Lterdb01: Anole ground level transects (Bisley and El Verde), Lterdb02:Anoline Lizard Treefall Gap Transect Data , Lterdb05: Anole Mark and Resight Study, Lterdb06: Anole Grid Study; Lterdb24: Anole Food Habits

SAMPLE LOCATION: N/A

STORAGE SITES (of data files): LUQ LTER Data Manager's Cabinet DM333-001, Drawer #1

INVESTIGATOR'S ASSIGNED KEYWORDS: anole, Anolis stratulus, populations, population density, relative abundance, lizards, reptiles, vertical distribution.

LEF LTER OFFICIAL KEYWORDS (See table): BISLEY TOWERS, EL VERDE TOWERS, TABONUCO, POPULATION DYNAMICS, REPTILES, PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL

PUBLICATIONS:
Reagan, D.P. 1991. The response of Anolis lizards to hurricane-induced habitat changes in a Puerto Rican forest. Biotropica 23:468-474.

Reagan, D.P. 1992. Congeneric species distribution and abundance in a three-dimensional habitat: the rain forest Anoles of Puerto Rico. Copeia 1992:392-403.

Reagan, D.P. 1995. Lizard ecology in the canopy of an island rain forest. Chapter 7 in M. Lowman and N. Nadkarni, editors. Forest canopies. Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, Florida.

Reagan, D.P. 1996a. Anoline lizards. Pages 321-345 in D. P. Reagan and R. B. Waide, editors. The food web of a tropical rain forest. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.

DISSEMINATION: UNRESTRICTED

REASONS TO RESTRICT DATA IN THIS DATA SET BEYOND ITS TWO YEAR POLICY PERIOD*:

*WILL HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY LTER PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: J. ZIMMERMAN, A. LUGO , D.J. LODGE

FILING
___ "File" copy only : Data Management will only file an electronic copy of the data file and its documentation
X "Enter" data on-line : Data Management will be in charge of entering the data on computer files.(ContactEda C. Meléndez)

SITES DESCRIPTIONS:

Geographical positional system (GPS) Coordinates for each location:

location	latitude	longitude
Bisley Study Area (tower - Original and Ridge)
El Verde Study Area (South Walkway Tower - Gap tower )
El Verde Study Area (North Walkway Tower - Forest tower)
El Verde Study Area (Old Tower Transect - Odum tower)

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES): (These variables are part of the the following data sets: LTERDBAS # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 24

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears)	1, 2, 3, 4	1, 2, 3, 4	1, 2, 3, 4	1, 2, 3, 4	1, 2, 3, 4	1, 2, 3, 4
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file)	SEASON	SPECIES	SEX/AGE	HEIGHT	DISTANCE FROM CENTERLINE	PERCH SUBSTRATE
NAME OF VARIABLE	Season	Name of species observed	Sex of adults or age stage	Perch Height	Distance from central line	Perch substrate
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	Season of observation	Scientific name of species observed	Sex of adults or age stage	Height above ground level	Distance from central axis of vertical transect to the lizard	Miscellaneous information
UNIT	NA	NA	NA	meter	meter	centimeter
PRECISION	NA	NA	NA	.1	.1	.1
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES	wet = July to December, dry = January to July	Anolis ?, Anolis evermanni, Anolis gundlachi, Anolis k., Anolis stratulus	? = sex undetermined, F = female, F? = probably a female, M = male, M? = probably a male, adult = individual in adult stage, hatch = few days old, hatching = few days old, juvenile = individual in the juvenile stage, juvenile / sub-adult = individual in the juvenile to sub-adult stage, sub-adult = individual in the sub-adult stage, sub-adult? = probably a sub-adult	0.0 to 25.0	0.0 to 8.0
DATA TYPE	datetime	alphabetic	alphabetic	decimal	decimal	alphanumeric
MISSING DATA CODES	none	blank	blank	blank	none	blank

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears)	1, 2, 3, 4	1, 2, 3, 4	1, 2, 3, 4	1, 2, 3, 4	1, 2, 3, 4
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file)	PEARCH DIAMETER	Comments	Weight	SVL	Tail
NAME OF VARIABLE	Perch diameter	Additional information	Weight	SVL Snout-vent length	Tail length
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	Perch diameter	Comments; prey length; miscellaneous observations, including color of enamel used; Maximum length of the prey item in mm	Weight of lizard collected	Distance from the tip of the snout to the cloacal vent	Length of tail
UNIT	centimeter	millimeter	gram	millimeter	millimeter
PRECISION	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES		0.1 - 100
DATA TYPE	decimal	alphanumeric	numeric	numeric	numeric
MISSING DATA CODES	blank	blank	blank	blank	blank

COMPUTATIONAL METHODS:

Variable Name	Formula

FOR DATA MANAGER USE ONLY

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: June 21, 2007
DATE OF LAST ENTRY: 1992
STAGE OF DATA SET MANAGEMENT (dates):
RECEIVED 7/90
ENTERED AND FILED: 8/14/90
ON-LINE Mar 2001
REVIEWED BY RESEARCHER 3/18/91 (documentation)
FILING MEDIA:
NAME OF DOCUMENTATION FILE: lterdb04.htm, original files SLEBTLI4.POP, LTERDB-4.FM1
NAME OF ON - LINE CATALOG: LTERDB
RECORD #: 4
DOCUMENT TYPE: magnetic media (paper also)
PRIORITY TO BE ENTERED: second

Rev. date of this form: 8 June