Body temperatures in ectotherms are strongly affected by their thermal environment. Ectotherms respond to variation in the thermal environment either by modification of behavioural thermoregulation to maintain their optimal body temperature or by shifting their optimal body temperature. In this study, the body temperatures of males of three populations of spotted snow skinks, Niveoscincus ocellatus, living along an altitudinal gradient (low, mid, and high altitude) were studied in the field and laboratory in spring, summer, and autumn, representing the full activity period of this species. The environmental variation across both sites and seasons affected their field active body temperatures. At the low and mid altitude, N. ocellatus had a higher mean body temperature than at the high altitude. Animals achieved their thermal preference at the low and mid altitude sites in all seasons. At the high altitude, however, N. ocellatus struggled to reach its preferred body temperatures, especially in autumn. The lower body temperature at the high-altitude site is likely due to limited thermal opportunity and/or an effect of avoiding the costs associated with increased intensity of basking.
Research has been carried out on bird diversity to support ecotourism attractions in the mangrove area of Lembongan Island. The research was conducted in April - August 2021. The focus of this research is the identification, description of bird species and the use of habitats for bird activities. To achieve this goal, the following steps were taken: Identification of bird species based on morphological characteristics, determining the abundance of bird species using the point count method, determining bird activity at each ecosystem site of mangroves with ad libitum sampling method. Bird species diversity was determined by the Shannon-Wiener index. The results of the study found 32 species of birds belonging to 26 families. Most of the birds found were terrestrial birds with 21 species, and water birds (shore birds) with 11 species. Overall, the diversity of bird species in the mangrove ecosystem is in the high category (diversity index 3.03) and the species evenness index is high (evenness index 0.87). The types of vegetation used by birds at the 7 research sites were mangrove vegetation, mangrove associations and dry land vegetation. The presence of birds, bird conservation status, bird activities, habitat use by birds in mangrove habitats are attractive attractions for ecotourism.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.