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:

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	Anole Mark and Resight (3 sites)	AnoleMarkandResight.txt	18 February 1989	Anually	26 October 1992

RESEARCH LOCATION: South walkway tower, North walkway tower (Grid), Woods walkway tower, Gap tower at El Verde

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 ABSTRACT: The population distribution research area of the LEF LTER is designed to gather information on the distribution and abundance of key plant and animal species within the forest under different disturbance regimes. Multiple mark and resight studies were conducted to determine the population density of Anolis stratulus at one undisturbed forest site and one site in a partially regenerated treefall gap. Tower surveys were conducted in order to access individuals in the forest canopy.

DATA SET METHODS: Individual lizards are captured and marked with a unique color of enamel paint and hot-branded with an individual mark. Each lizard is sexed (if adult), age ( hatchling, juvenile/subadult, adult), weighed on a Pesola scale, and measured (snout-vent length [SVL]) and released within 10 minutes of capture. On each subsequent survey, only new lizards are captured; lizards already marked are resighted.

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 , Lterdb04: Anole Vertical Transects (tower DATA), 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): 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 (Contact Eda C. Meléndez)

SITES DESCRIPTIONS:

Geographical positional system (GPS) Coordinates for each location:

location	latitude	longitude
South walkway tower (Gap tower) El Verde
North walkway tower (Grid, Woods walkway) El Verde

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears)	1	1	1	1	1
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file)	STUDY	FILENAME	LOCATION	TIME	DATE
NAME OF VARIABLE	Type of study	Point of observation	Plot location	Time	Date
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	Type of study	Where the observation was performed or forest level	Study area including direction followed when observing along a transect of tower	Time of observation (hh:mm)	Date of observation (mm/dd/yy)
UNIT	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
PRECISION	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES	Mark recap	Gap tower, North Tower, South Tower, Woods walkway tower	El Verde
DATA TYPE	alphanumeric	alphabetic	alphabetic	datetime	datetime
MISSING DATA CODES	none	none	none	none	none

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears)	1	1	1	1	1	1
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	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	NA
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES	wet = July to December, dry = January to July	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 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	1	1	1
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file)	PERCH 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 millimeter to the nearest 0.1 mm	Weight of lizard collected in grams	Distance from the tip of the snout to the cloacal vent	Length of tail
UNIT	centimeter		gram	millimeter	millimeter
PRECISION	0.1		0.1	0.1	0.1
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES		0.1 to 100
DATA TYPE	integer	alphanumeric	decimal	decimal	decimal
MISSING DATA CODES	blank	blank	blank	blank	blank

COMPUTATIONAL METHODS:

Observations: Data in LTERDBAS # 3 (Anoline Lizard Treefall Gap No-Transect Data) consist of written descriptions and hand drawn maps of lizard locations and prominent features within treefall gaps. Variables include species, sex/age, substrate, perch height, perch diameter, and comment information and are the same form as variables for other anoline liard data sets. DATA ARE ONLY AVAILABLE IN PAPER - MANUSCRIPT. ASK Site Manager for copy)

FOR DATA MANAGER USE ONLY

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: Jan 17 2006
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 : lterdb05.htm, original files SLEBTLI5.POP, LTERDB-5.FM1
NAME OF ON - LINE CATALOG : LTERDB RECORD # : 5
DOCUMENT TYPE : magnetic media (paper also)
PRIORITY TO BE ENTERED : second

Rev. date of this form: 8 June 2000