Dissertation Research: An Investigation of the Apparent Competitive Exclusion or Reduction of Anolis carolinensis byA. sagrei in Non-Wetland Habitats in Southern Florida

尽管理论家经常呼吁设计良好的田间实验，但令人信服的物种间竞争的田间演示很少见。即使物种间的竞争是明确的，行为干预和对资源的竞争性开采的相对重要性仍然存在争议。最近，棕色变态变种在佛罗里达南部的殖民以及当地绿色变态变态变种种群数量的同时下降，表明了这些类型之间的激烈竞争。这将进行如下测试：将在田间建造大型围栏，并储存这些物种中的一种或两种的种群。将在两年内每月对人口进行普查，以收集有关增长和生殖的数据。如果一个或两个物种的平衡种群在两个物种的围栏中显著低于在一个物种的围栏中，竞争将被明确地证明。如果发现了竞争，就有可能通过检查人口、生殖和生长数据来确定竞争最严重的年龄/性别阶层，从而推断其机制。

Convincing field demonstrations of interspecific competition are rare, despite frequent appeals by theorists for well-designed field experiments. Even when interspecific competition is clear, the relative importance of behavioral interference and competitive exploitation of resources remain in dispute. The recent colonization of southern Florida by the brown anole Anolis sagrei and the simultaneous decline of populations of the native green anole Anolis carolinensis suggest severe competition between these forms. This will be tested as follows: Large enclosures will be constructed in the field and stocked with populations of one or both of these species. Populations will be censused monthly over a period of two years in order to collect data on growth and reproduction. Competition will be unequivocally demonstrated if the equilibrium populations of one or both species are significantly lower in two-species enclosures than they are in one-species enclosures. If competition is found, it will be possible by examination of the demographic, reproductive, and growth data to identify the age/sex classes upon which competition most heavily falls, and thus deduce its mechanism.