Abstract
Chamaeleo calyptratus, or the veiled chameleon, has been invasive in Florida for over 25 years and spread throughout the southern peninsula, yet they remain understudied. For this thesis, we sought to gather some of the first ecological data on C. calyptratus, using an invasive population in southwest Florida. We first conducted nocturnal visual encounter surveys and used occupancy and detection modeling to determine factors that could influence site occupancy and our ability to detect C. calyptratus. Then we used radio telemetry, vegetation surveys, drone-based LiDAR, and aerial orthoimagery to analyze the spatial ecology and habitat use of C. calyptratus in southwest Florida. It appears that the most important factor for site occupancy is the tree species evenness of the site, while the most important factors for nocturnal detection are the ambient light level of the site and the search light type (looking in darker areas with brighter lights). We also found that movement varies by individual, but larger males seem to have very small home ranges compared to females and smaller males, which had the largest home ranges of the study. Habitat use also varied by individual, but we saw a clear pattern of lizards utilizing areas of higher canopy cover and density, regardless of time of day and method of canopy measurement. Understanding how these lizards use their new environment is essential to not only determine their impact on our ecosystems and know how to manage them, but to give us a better idea about their ecology in their native range.
