1998
DOI: 10.1007/s004420050434
|View full text |Cite
|
Sign up to set email alerts
|

Are geckos useful bioindicators of air pollution?

Abstract: The response of an Australian arid-zone gecko community to sulphur dioxide and salt spray from a mine and industrial site was investigated from 1992 to 1995. Geckos were abundant and fecund at control sites in chenopod shrubland and annual capture rates were strongly influenced by minimum night temperatures. Capture rate and percentage of females gravid at sites exposed to high concentrations of air pollutants were significantly lower than at control sites. Discrepancies between control and impacted sites were… Show more

Help me understand this report

Search citation statements

Order By: Relevance

Paper Sections

Select...
1
1
1
1

Citation Types

0
16
0

Year Published

2000
2000
2021
2021

Publication Types

Select...
7
2

Relationship

0
9

Authors

Journals

citations
Cited by 17 publications
(16 citation statements)
references
References 38 publications
0
16
0
Order By: Relevance
“…Low sample size hindered attempts to isolate the individual species' response but the change in reptile abundance appeared to be driven largely by a reduction in gecko captures at both control and inside sites. The most abundant local gecko species exhibit high fecundity and R. ornata in particular is short‐lived (Read 1998), and hence, like rodents, geckos should respond relatively quickly to changes in environmental conditions. Many geckos such as R. ornata and D. conspicilatus are termite specialists and their relatively low numbers inside the Reserve could potentially be attributable to competition from re‐introduced M. lagotis which also consume termites (Johnson 1980; Gibson 2001).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Low sample size hindered attempts to isolate the individual species' response but the change in reptile abundance appeared to be driven largely by a reduction in gecko captures at both control and inside sites. The most abundant local gecko species exhibit high fecundity and R. ornata in particular is short‐lived (Read 1998), and hence, like rodents, geckos should respond relatively quickly to changes in environmental conditions. Many geckos such as R. ornata and D. conspicilatus are termite specialists and their relatively low numbers inside the Reserve could potentially be attributable to competition from re‐introduced M. lagotis which also consume termites (Johnson 1980; Gibson 2001).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Gecko fecundity is affected by other local environmental insults (Read 1998b) and hence was also investigated in this study. The reproductive effort of the two most common gecko species, Diplodactylus conspicillatus and Rhynchoedura ornata was estimated by the percentage of adult females that were gravid, because all gravid females of both species typically lay two eggs (Read 1999a).…”
Section: Methodsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Biological responses at Olympic Dam have been attributed to airborne emissions from the plant and underground mine (Read, 1998(Read, , 1996Read and Pickering, 1999), superimposed upon the effects of the variable climate, feral animals and domestic stock (Read, 1992(Read, , 1999.…”
Section: Study Sitementioning
confidence: 99%