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Abstract
Scaling models predict how functional variables change as animals grow or increase
in size evolutionarily. However, few experimental studies have found support for the
predictions of these models. Here, we use a force plate to investigate the scaling
of functional variables associated with jumping within (for three species) and across
adults of 12 species of Anolis lizards. Both ontogenetically (with the exception of
Anolis carolinensis) and across the 12 species examined, limb dimensions increased
geometrically, making Anolis lizards an ideal study system to test the predictions
of geometric scaling models. However, both the ontogenetic and interspecific scaling
of functional variables deviated in several aspects from model predictions. Unexpectedly,
the scaling of functional variables such as acceleration differed for different species.
Whereas acceleration capacity increases with hindlimb length for A. carolinensis,
no relationship was detected for the other two species. Interspecifically, the inclusion
of two large species in our analysis appears to drive the absence of a correlation
between acceleration capacity and hindlimb length across species. These data suggest
that selection for enhanced jumping performance is relaxed in larger anoles and support
the notion that no scaling model seems to be able to comprehensively predict changes
in function with size across species; rather, natural selection seems to drive changes
in the scaling relationships of some key variables such as force output or acceleration
capacity.