Rainfall and reproduction in females of the tropical lizard Mabuya striata striata.

The reproduction of females of the lizard Mabuya striata striata was studied at two sites in Central Africa in an area with distinct rainy and dry seasons. The two sites differed in the amount of rain received. At the wetter site, a high proportion of M. s. striata were reproductive at all seasons. At the drier site, a high proportion of females were reproductive during the rainy season, but fewer were reproductive during the dry season. In addition, clutch size was lower at the drier site in the dry season. At both sites, low rainfall during the dry season appeared to constrain reproduction, but this constraint was greater at the drier site. At both sites, abdominal fat bodies were large during the rainy season and the early dry season and much smaller in the late dry season. In the early dry season abdominal fat bodies were larger at the drier than the wetter site. Females at the drier site apparently channel energy differentially into adult survival rather than present reproduction.