Patterns of thermal constraint on ectotherm activity

Thermal activity constraints play a major role in many aspects of ectotherm ecology, including vulnerability to climate change. Therefore, there is strong interest in developing general models of the temperature dependence of activity. Several models have been put forth (explicitly or implicitly) to describe such constraints; nonetheless, tests of the predictive abilities of these models are lacking. In addition, most models consider activity as a threshold trait instead of considering continuous changes in the vigor of activity among individuals. Using field data for a tropical lizard (Anolis cristatellus) and simulations parameterized by our observations, we determine how well various threshold and continuous-activity models match observed activity patterns. No models accurately predicted activity under all of the thermal conditions that we considered. In addition, simulations showed that the performance of threshold models decreased as temperatures increased, which is a troubling fin...