Food Intake and Reproduction in Anolis acutus

The relationship between food intake and reproduction was investigated in an eastern and a western population of the iguanid lizard Anolis acutus on the island of St. Croix. Reproduction was higher in the west than in the east. Females with oviductal eggs were present in every sample in the west, but were absent until May in the east. Small fat bodies accompanied the higher reproduction in the west. Initially, fat bodies were large in the east, but as reproduction increased, fat levels decreased. Food intake, as measured by stomach weights, was not significantly different between localities. To investigate whether an increase in food intake increases reproduction, lizards in the east were fed supplementally over 51 days. Reproductive effort (100 x gonad weight/lean body weight) failed to increase in females but did increase in males. The reproductive condition of females was identical between food augmented and control lizards, but fat levels increased tremendously in food augmented lizards. The weight of fat bodies was 6 x greater than controls in females, and 8 x greater in males. An increase in food did not cause an increase in female reproduction in this anole.