Long-term monitoring reveals invariant clutch size and unequal reproductive costs between sexes in a subtropical lacertid lizard

Lin, Jhan Wei; Chen, Ying Rong; Li, Tsui Wen; Shaner, Pei Jen L.; Lin, Si Min

doi:10.1186/s40851-019-0152-0

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 60 publications

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“…Takydromus viridipunctatus is a diurnal lacertid lizard which mainly occurs in early successional grasslands (figure 1a). Our 7-year study with greater than 20 000 capture records showed that avian predators are a major threat to this small-sized lizard [8,9]. In particular, the mortality of this lizard was significantly correlated with cattle egret abundance in the same month, implicating this bird as the major diurnal predator of the lizard.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Do I stay or do I go? Shifts in perch use by lizards during morning twilight suggest anticipatory behaviour

et al. 2021

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Anticipatory behaviour is the expectation of a near-future event based on information processed in the past and influences an animal's tactical decisions, particularly when there are significant fitness consequences. The grass lizard ( Takydromus viridipunctatus ) perches on blades of grass at night which likely reduces the probability of predation by terrestrial predators such as snakes, rodents and shrews. During twilight (starting 30 min before sunrise), they move from above the grass to within grass clumps and this is thought to afford the lizard protection while reducing detection by avian predators. Here, we examined how lizards shift their behaviour as a function of visual detectability to their primary predator, the cattle egret ( Bubulcus ibis ). We show that the lizards shift from their perch site during twilight at the earliest time at which egrets depart communal roosts. At the same time, visual modelling shows a dramatic increase in the detectability of the lizards to the visual system of egrets. Therefore, anticipatory behaviour in response to environmental cues acts to reduce predation risk as lizards become more conspicuous and predators become more active. Grass lizard anticipatory behaviour appears to be finely tuned by natural selection to adjust to temporal changes in predation risk.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Do I stay or do I go? Shifts in perch use by lizards during morning twilight suggest anticipatory behaviour

et al. 2021

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Precocious maturation and semi-multivoltine lifecycle in a subtropical grass lizard, Takydromus toyamai

Asato,

Toda

2024

Current Zoology

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There are many short-lived animals, but those displaying a lifecycle with more than one generation per year (multivoltine lifecycle) are rare among terrestrial vertebrates. The multivoltine lifecycle requires rapid growth and maturation, and a long active season. Thus, small lizards in humid tropical or subtropical areas are candidates for multivoltine lifecycles. To test this prediction, we conducted a capture-mark-recapture study of a subtropical grass lizard, Takydromus toyamai, endemic to Miyako Islands, Japan. Juveniles grew very quickly, averaging 0.3 mm/day in the warm season, and attained sexual maturity at 2.5 months post-hatching. The breeding season was very long, and hatchlings emerged from May–November. The prolonged breeding season and rapid growth to maturity allowed some individuals to produce a second generation in their first year. Estimates of hatching date from growth rates indicated that many females that hatched in May–June became gravid 76–120 days after hatching and 122–165 days after oviposition of the eggs from which they hatched. Analyses of juvenile survivorship and month of hatching suggest that nearly half of breeding adults were members of multivoltine generations, although the two generations were not discrete. The species is short-lived, with only 16% of individuals surviving beyond 12 months, and few individuals reproduced in a second year. We refer to this condition as a "semi-multivoltine lifecycle.” Individuals that hatch late in the season defer reproduction until the following year, and become founders of the next season’s cohort. This putative advantage of late-hatching individuals may have driven the evolution of this lifecycle.

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A New Species of the GenusCrenubiotus (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Adorybiotidae) from Salt Spring Island, Strait of Georgia, British Columbia (Canada)

Vecchi

Choong

Calhim

2022

folia biol (krakow)

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Currently, the recently erected genus Crenubiotus (Adorybiotidae, Macrobiotoidea) includes only three species, all of which are characterised by dentate lunulae and cuticular tubercules organised in the band in the dorso-caudal part of the body. By means of integrative taxonomy, we describe a fourth species of the genus: Crenubiotus salishani sp. nov., from Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, Canada. The new species has been found in the moss growing on rock and differs from the other species in the genus due to the presence of a median anterior mucrone in the third band of the oral cavity armature (OCA) and by the presence of evident thickenings on the eggshell connecting the neighbouring processes. This finding highlights the importance of continuing to study tardigrade biodiversity, even in already explored areas, and how an integrative approach is fundamental to achieving a reliable measure of biodiversity.

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Long-term monitoring reveals invariant clutch size and unequal reproductive costs between sexes in a subtropical lacertid lizard

Cited by 3 publications

References 60 publications

Do I stay or do I go? Shifts in perch use by lizards during morning twilight suggest anticipatory behaviour

Do I stay or do I go? Shifts in perch use by lizards during morning twilight suggest anticipatory behaviour

Precocious maturation and semi-multivoltine lifecycle in a subtropical grass lizard, Takydromus toyamai

A New Species of the GenusCrenubiotus (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Adorybiotidae) from Salt Spring Island, Strait of Georgia, British Columbia (Canada)

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