Living in a caatinga-rocky field transitional habitat: ecological aspects of the whiptail lizard Cnemidophorus ocellifer (Teiidae) in northeastern Brazil

Menezes, Vanderlaine Amaral; Sluys, Monique Van; Fontes, Angélica Figueira; Rocha, Carlos Frederico Duarte

doi:10.1590/s1984-46702011000100002

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Many species tend to reproduce continuously with several small clutches (Vitt and Colli 1994;Colli 2003b, 2010). Some of these results have been shown before in other studies looking at intraspecific variation (Vitt 1986;Colli 1991;Vitt and Colli 1994;Colli et al 2003;Colli 2003a, 2003b;Menezes et al 2011) as well as in interspecific comparisons among tropical lizards (Mesquita and Colli 2010). Our results-using powerful methods to account for evolutionary relationships Figure 4: Distribution of statistically significant nodes according to distance of nodes from root of tree, on the basis of a canonical phylogenetic ordination analysis relating nine life-history traits of lizard species and populations worldwide to phylogenetic tree structure and climatic parameters.…”

Section: Relationship Between Climate and Life-history Traitssupporting

confidence: 67%

Life-History Patterns of Lizards of the World

Mesquita

Costa²,

Colli³

et al. 2016

The American Naturalist

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Identification of mechanisms that promote variation in life-history traits is critical to understand the evolution of divergent reproductive strategies. Here we compiled a large life-history data set (674 lizard populations, representing 297 species from 263 sites globally) to test a number of hypotheses regarding the evolution of life-history traits in lizards. We found significant phylogenetic signal in most life-history traits, although phylogenetic signal was not particularly high. Climatic variables influenced the evolution of many traits, with clutch frequency being positively related to precipitation and clutches of tropical lizards being smaller than those of temperate species. This result supports the hypothesis that in tropical and less seasonal climates, many lizards tend to reproduce repeatedly throughout the season, producing smaller clutches during each reproductive episode. Our analysis also supported the hypothesis that viviparity has evolved in lizards as a response to cooler climates. Finally, we also found that variation in trait values explained by clade membership is unevenly distributed among lizard clades, with basal clades and a few younger clades showing the most variation. Our global analyses are largely consistent with life-history theory and previous results based on smaller and scattered data sets, suggesting that these patterns are remarkably consistent across geographic and taxonomic scales.

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Section: Relationship Between Climate and Life-history Traitssupporting

confidence: 67%

Life-History Patterns of Lizards of the World

Mesquita

Costa²,

Colli³

et al. 2016

The American Naturalist

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“…The diet composition of A. ocellifera in ESEC Serid´o was similar to those of other whiptail lizards (e.g., Pianka, 1970;Vitt et al, 1997;Mesquita and Colli, 2003b;Menezes et al, 2006Menezes et al, , 2008Menezes et al, , 2011, except for the low consumption of Isoptera. Termites represent a predominant prey category (both in number and in volume) in the diet of many whiptails, both in South American (for a review, see Ariani et al, 2011) and North American species (e.g., Pianka, 1970;Vitt et al, 1993;Rodríguez and Casas-Andreu, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Diet and Foraging Behavior ofAmeivula ocellifera(Squamata: Teiidae) in the Brazilian Semiarid Caatinga

Sales

Freire²

2015

Journal of Herpetology

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This study investigated the influence of seasonality on diet and foraging behavior of the whiptail lizard Ameivula (Cnemidophorus) ocellifera in the Caatinga of northeastern Brazil. Diet composition was identified through stomach analysis of lizards collected monthly by active search during 2009 (rainy and dry seasons) and half of 2010 (rainy season). Foraging behavior was investigated during one rainy and one dry month of 2012, allowing us to determine the percent of time spent moving (PTM), number of movements per minute (MPM), and number of successful attacks on prey by lizards during foraging activity. Analysis of stomach contents showed significant seasonal differences in diet: insect larvae, Coleoptera, and Orthoptera predominated during the two rainy seasons (2009 and 2010); insect larvae, Hemiptera, Araneae, and Orthoptera predominated in the dry season. Prey movement index was lower during rainy seasons, mainly because of more insect larvae consumed during those periods. Population niche breadth was broader in the dry season, but individual niches did not differ significantly between seasons. When foraging, the average PTM was 61.1 6 15.1%; MPM was 2.03 6 0.30; and prey items captured/min was 0.14 6 0.14. PTM for A. ocellifera was similar to values found for North American whiptails (Aspidoscelis), but MPM was relatively higher. Seasonal differences were observed in PTM, which were significantly higher in the rainy season. This difference may represent a behavioral adjustment in response to differences in seasonal food availability.

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“…Cactus provide sites for thermoregulation (Vrcibradic & Rocha, 2002), while bromeliads provides shelter, preys and source of water (Oliveira & Rocha, 1997). We recorded the highest number of G. littoralis on the leaf litter at the edge of bushes, a micro-habitat where this lizards' species has been reported to prefer (Hatano et al, 2001;Araujo et al, 1998), due to the heliothermic characteristic of this genus (Teixeira-Filho et al, 1995;Vitt, 1995) that favors open areas (Teixeira-Filho et al, 1995;Menezes et al, 2011) where they can forage and get the necessary sunlight for thermoregulation (Silva & Araújo, 2008;Menezes et al, 2000). Leaf litter associated with any type of vegetation had a positive relationship with lizard abundance both in Grussaí and Jurubatiba.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The variety of microclimates generated by the micro-habitats encompasses a range of environmental conditions that can be needed, or avoided, by organisms depending on their activities and hours of the day (Sinervo et al, 2010). The physical characteristics of the habitat, such as open or closed vegetation, wind, shade or direct exposure to sunlight influence the maintenance of local individuals' body temperature, mainly the ectothermic ones, consequently affecting their choice of habitat (Menezes et al, 2011;Maia-Carneiro et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat structure and their influence in lizard’s presence

2019

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Many species are declining due to environmental and physical changes in their habitats. Such disturbs alter the availability of micro-habitats and influences the presence of lizards, being even worse for threatened and endemic species. Glaucomastix littoralis is a teiid species restricted to four restingas areas of Brazil. The understanding about the use and preferences of micro-habitats by the species and the consequents effects of substrate loss is important to prevent local extinctions. This study took place in restingas of Maricá, Jurubatiba and Grussaí, in Rio de Janeiro State. We sampled the vegetation of all areas, to access differences between the physical structures, and recorded the individuals sighted and the micro-habitat they were in, to investigate the relation of individuals and habitat structure. We calculated the frequency utilization of each micro-habitat and made a presence estimation of individuals (occupancy and detection probability) to assess which structural parameters of vegetation guide the settlement of the studied populations. Our data showed structural vegetation particularities among the areas and a trend concerning the use of micro-habitat by Glaucomastix littoralis, with a general preference for leaf litter inside bushes, guriri and bare sand and a low utilization of cactus and herbaceous. We also found positives (bare sand and cactus) and negatives (bushes) influences of micro-habitats in relation to the occupation of the areas by the individuals. Since vegetation is fundamental to lizards, due to their use as a refuge, site for thermoregulation and feeding, the understanding about the effects habitat degradation/fragmentation can cause is essential to create appropriate management plans and develop public policies to conserve the species.

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Living in a caatinga-rocky field transitional habitat: ecological aspects of the whiptail lizard Cnemidophorus ocellifer (Teiidae) in northeastern Brazil

Cited by 17 publications

References 42 publications

Life-History Patterns of Lizards of the World

Life-History Patterns of Lizards of the World

Diet and Foraging Behavior ofAmeivula ocellifera(Squamata: Teiidae) in the Brazilian Semiarid Caatinga

Habitat structure and their influence in lizard’s presence

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