Green Anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis) deposit eggs in nests of the Trap Jaw Ant, Odontomachus brunneus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina L. Kwapich

Squamates eggs are rarely found in ant nests, and are largely restricted to the nests of neotropical fungus gardening in the tribe Attini. Ponerine ant nests have not previously been reported as nesting cavities for squamates, including the Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis). The current study reports the association of Green Anole eggs and hatchlings with the subterranean nest chambers of the trap jaw ant, Odontomachus brunneus. Hatching rates suggest that O. brunneus nests may be used communally by multiple females, which partition spatial resources with other recently introduced Anolis species in their native range. This new nesting strategy is placed in the context of know associations between frogs, snakes, legless worm lizards and ants.

2011 ◽  
Vol 215 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Gilman ◽  
M. D. Bartlett ◽  
G. B. Gillis ◽  
D. J. Irschick

2011 ◽  
Vol 214 (12) ◽  
pp. 2073-2079 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.-Y. Kuo ◽  
G. B. Gillis ◽  
D. J. Irschick

2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan J. Irschick ◽  
Grant Gentry ◽  
Anthony Herrel ◽  
Bieke Vanhooydonck

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (20) ◽  
pp. jeb232132
Author(s):  
Andrew Z. Wang ◽  
Jerry F. Husak

ABSTRACTLimited resources must be partitioned among traits that enhance fitness. Although survival-related traits often trade off with reproduction, survival-related traits themselves may trade off with each other under energy limitations. Whole-organism performance and the immune system both enhance survival, yet are costly, but it is unclear how the two might trade off with each other under energy-limited conditions. Resources can be allocated to very different types of performance (e.g. aerobic endurance versus anaerobic sprinting), just as they can be allocated to different components of the immune system (e.g. innate versus acquired) to maximize survival. We forced allocation to different performance traits in green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis) using specialized exercise training, to determine how different components of the immune system would be impacted by shifts in energy use. We measured immunocompetence in endurance-trained, sprint-trained and untrained control lizards by evaluating swelling response to phytohemagglutinin (cell-mediated immunity), antibody response to sheep red blood cells (acquired humoral immunity) and wound healing (integrated immunity). Endurance-trained lizards had reduced cell-mediated immunity, whereas sprint-trained lizards had reduced rates of wound healing. The acquired immune response was not affected by either type of training. Because each immune measure responded differently to the different types of training, our results do not support the hypothesis that simple energy limitation determines overall investment in immunity. Instead, different components of the immune system appear to be affected in ways specific to how energy is invested in performance.


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