Virginia Tech
    • Log in
    View Item 
    •   VTechWorks Home
    • College of Science (COS)
    • Department of Biological Sciences
    • Scholarly Works, Department of Biological Sciences
    • View Item
    •   VTechWorks Home
    • College of Science (COS)
    • Department of Biological Sciences
    • Scholarly Works, Department of Biological Sciences
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Intersexual differences in energy expenditure of Anolis carolinensis lizards during breeding and postbreeding seasons

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Main article (454.1Kb)
    Downloads: 592
    Date
    2004-01
    Author
    Orrell, K. S.
    Congdon, J. D.
    Jenssen, T. A.
    Michener, R. H.
    Kunz, T. H.
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Although the amount of energy that males and females invest in reproduction is an integral component of theories explaining the evolution of particular mating strategies, few studies have actually determined the amount of energy that each sex allocates to reproduction. We compared how energy is expended by male and female Anolis carolinensis lizards during both the breeding and postbreeding seasons. We used laboratory respirometry to determine resting metabolic rates (RMRs) of inactive, freshly captured lizards and the doubly labeled water technique to determine field metabolic rates (FMRs) of free-ranging lizards. Both RMRs and FMRs were influenced by body mass but not by sex. Season did not influence FMRs; however, RMRs of both sexes increased similar to 40% from the breeding to the postbreeding season. The seasonal increase in RMRs was attributed to a postreproductive increase in feeding rate and specific dynamic action. We used RMRs, FMRs, and thermal profiles of lizards to calculate energy budgets for breeding and postbreeding seasons. Energy budgets partitioned daily field energy (DFE; calculated from FMRs) into daily activity energy ( DAE) and daily resting energy (DRE; calculated from RMRs). Energy expended for reproduction was estimated as DAE during the breeding season plus egg production ( for females). Despite males having 40% greater body mass, females expended 46% more energy for reproduction than did males ( 906 and 619 J/d, respectively). Total metabolizable energy (TME = production for females) expended during the breeding season was similar for males and females ( 1,280 and 1,365 J/d, respectively). Although TME of females decreased 44% from the breeding to the postbreeding season ( 1,365 vs. 766 J/ d), TME of males was similar during both seasons ( 1,280 vs. 1,245 J/ d). There were both seasonal and sexual differences in DRE and DAE. Compared with most lizards from semiarid/ desert habitats, A. carolinensis in a temperate habitat expends more total energy during the breeding season, allocates more energy to eggs, and appears to have more total energy available for reproduction.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10919/49147
    Collections
    • Scholarly Works, Department of Biological Sciences [807]

    If you believe that any material in VTechWorks should be removed, please see our policy and procedure for Requesting that Material be Amended or Removed. All takedown requests will be promptly acknowledged and investigated.

    Virginia Tech | University Libraries | Contact Us
     

     

    VTechWorks

    AboutPoliciesHelp

    Browse

    All of VTechWorksCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    Log inRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    If you believe that any material in VTechWorks should be removed, please see our policy and procedure for Requesting that Material be Amended or Removed. All takedown requests will be promptly acknowledged and investigated.

    Virginia Tech | University Libraries | Contact Us