Growth Ecology of the Lizard Xenosaurus grandis in Veracruz, México

Zúñiga‐Vega, J. Jaime; Rojas-González, R. Isaac; Lemos‐Espinal, Julio A.; Pérez-Trejo, M. Esther

doi:10.1670/202-04a.1

Cited by 26 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…where the growth rate (GR, mm ⋅ day -1 ) is the change in body length, which is the difference 2008] between the 2nd (SVL 2 ) and 1st (SVL 1 ) lengths divided by the number of days between captures (Zúñiga-Vega et al 2005).…”

Section: Population Structure and Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demography of the Yarrow's Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii, from the Central Chihuahuan Desert

Gadsden¹,

Estrada-Rodríguez²

2008

Western North American Naturalist

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The demography of a population of Yarrow's spiny lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii, was examined from 2004 to 2006 in the canyon Las Piedras Encimadas, located in Gomez Palacio, Durango, México. Lizards were studied using a mark-recapture technique. Reproduction in females occurred between November and May, coinciding with dry conditions. Reproductive activity was highest (percent of females with vitellogenic follicles or embryos) in the middle of the dry season (November and December). Thirteen percent of females reached sexual maturity at an average age of 8.5 months. The population structure was similar in spring and fall, but not in summer. A notable feature of summer, coinciding with the wet season, was the greater number of hatchlings and juveniles. The overall sex ratio did not differ from 1:1. The density of adults varied from 12 to 62 animals ⋅ 0.5 ha -1 . Temperate and arid-adapted populations of S. jarrovii exhibited broad similarity in timing of the reproductive season, whereas factors such as density, growth, age at sexual maturity, and survivorship differed.

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Section: Population Structure and Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demography of the Yarrow's Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii, from the Central Chihuahuan Desert

Gadsden¹,

Estrada-Rodríguez²

2008

Western North American Naturalist

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“…If the ecological hypothesis explains variation in growth rates in lizards, such that growth is largely governed by extrinsic environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, and food availability through the year (Adolph & Porter, ; Tinkle, ; Zúñiga‐Vega et al, ), we predicted that A. nebulosus would grow faster in the productive wet season, and faster overall in wetter years in the tropical seasonal environment of the Mexican Pacific. Based on the assumptions of the ecological hypothesis that states that the variation in growth rates is due to environmental factors, our goals are to answer the following questions: (a) Are there differences in growth rates between sexes?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In both island and mainland populations of Anolis, environmental factors can influence life-history traits, such as growth rates (Zúñiga-Vega, Rojas-González, Lemos-Espinal, & Pérez-Trejo, 2005). For example, the availability of food was a primary regulator of growth in island populations of A. oculatus and A. limifrons (Andrews, 1976).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology of the growth of Anolis nebulosus (Squamata: Dactyloidae) in a seasonal tropical environment in the Chamela region, Jalisco, Mexico

Hernández‐Salinas

Ramírez‐Bautista

Cruz‐Elizalde

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Juvenile growth rates are thought to be restricted by available food resources. In animals that grow throughout the year, such as tropical lizards, growth is therefore predicted to be faster during the rainy season. We test this prediction using a population of Anolis nebulosus by describing the growth trajectories of both sexes using nonlinear regression models, and we then correlate the growth rates of individuals with food available in the environment, precipitation, and temperature. The Von Bertalanffy model fits the growth rates of the females better, while the logistic‐by‐length model fits the males better. According to both models, the males grew faster than females, reaching slightly smaller sizes at adulthood. Males reached sexual maturity when 35 mm long, at an age of seven months, and females matured at 37 mm (SVL), taking nine months to reach this size. In 1989, juvenile males and females grew more in both seasons (rainy and dry) than adults; for 1990, there were no differences by season or between age classes. These results are interesting since in the 1989 and 1990 rainy seasons, practically the same orders of prey and the greatest abundance of prey available in the environment were registered. A possible explanation could be that predation was more intense in 1990 than in 1989. There is little evidence that food, temperature, and humidity affect growth rates of A. nebulosus , refuting our predictions. This is mainly due to the low variation in growth observed in 1990. Therefore we think that the growth of this species reflects a complex combination of ecological and genetic factors.

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“…A significant difference in the growth pattern between sexes must have been indicated by non-overlapping of the conservative 95% "support plane" confidence intervals that were constructed for both parameters according to Schoener and Schoener (1978). We chose as the best model the one that resulted in the highest R 2 and lowest residual mean square (RMS; Van Sluys, 1998;Zúñiga-Vega et al, 2005). We used estimates derived from such best model in every further analysis.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, higher frequencies of colder temperatures at the higher elevation sites (minimum temperatures: 4.6 • C at PNZ, 2.0 • C at Laguna, and 2.2 • C at Paredon) should exert hard restrictions to their physiological process thus curtailing the net available energy for body increment. Other environmental factors should also interact to promote higher growth rates at La Michilía (e.g., more food availability and less biological interactions; Smith, 1996a;Zúñiga-Vega et al, 2005;Iraeta et al, 2006), whose possible effects upon growth rates need further exploration.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Body growth in one montane population of Sceloporus grammicus (Sauria, Phrynosomatidae) in Central México

2008

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We conducted an analysis of the body growth pattern of the viviparous lizard Sceloporus grammicus in one of its montane populations in Central México. We calculated 177 individual growth rates for the period comprised between June 1991 and June 1997. Von Bertalanffy growth model provided the best fit to our data in comparison with logistic models. No intersexual differences were found in the growth pattern. The constructed growth curve estimated an age at maturity of 12 and a half months for females and 14 months for males. In spite of marked seasonality in the region, growth rates were not significantly different between seasons. Our results, together with previous studies on the growth ecology of other populations of S. grammicus, suggest that in the volcanic mountains of Central México body growth, and therefore age and size at maturity, are relatively more limited during the whole year in comparison with populations inhabiting northern or lower-altitude localities.

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Growth Ecology of the Lizard Xenosaurus grandis in Veracruz, México

Cited by 26 publications

References 46 publications

Demography of the Yarrow's Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii, from the Central Chihuahuan Desert

Demography of the Yarrow's Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii, from the Central Chihuahuan Desert

Ecology of the growth of Anolis nebulosus (Squamata: Dactyloidae) in a seasonal tropical environment in the Chamela region, Jalisco, Mexico

Body growth in one montane population of Sceloporus grammicus (Sauria, Phrynosomatidae) in Central México

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