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This picture was taken on February 6 in long leaf pine forest C on the UNCW campus. The lizard in the photo is Anolis carolinensis, commonly known as a green anole. The anole was basking in the sun when I found it, as lizards are poikilotherms and rely on behavioural changes to thermoregulate. They can do this through conduction, convection, and direct solar radiation. In addition to not producing extra energy to maintain a stable internal body temperature, the metabolic rate of ectotherms is lower than it is for endotherms.

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