Observations on the Nesting Ecology and Early Life History of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (<i>Sceloporus arenicolus</i>)

Ryberg, Wade A.; Hill, Michael T.; Lay, Daniel W.; Fitzgerald, Lee A.

doi:10.3398/064.072.0413

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…A related hypothesis suggests that sand grain size can also influence the retention of moisture in arid sandy soils, where species must cope with extreme evaporative water loss (Mautz, 1982). Fine sand retains water more readily than coarse sand, allowing for adequate hydration of eggs for oviparous species, and allowing fossorial species to minimize water loss during subsurface respiration (Heatwole & Taylor, 1987;Ryberg et al, 2012). At the same time, fine sand might also interfere with breathing physically (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This species is an extreme habitat specialist endemic to the Mescalero-Monahans Sandhills ecosystem in southeastern New Mexico and adjacent West Texas (Degenhardt, Painter & Price, 1996). Sceloporus arenicolus occurs only in shinnery oak Quercus havardii sand-dune landforms and typically those with high percentages of medium and coarse sand grains larger than 0.25 mm and low percentages of fine grains smaller than 0.25 mm (Fitzgerald & Painter, 2009;Laurencio & Fitzgerald, 2010;Ryberg et al, 2012). The exact mechanisms by which fine sand grain size is incompatible with the life history of S. arenicolus are unknown, but may be similar to Uma and possibly generalizable to many psammophilic squamates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The exact mechanisms by which fine sand grain size is incompatible with the life history of S. arenicolus are unknown, but may be similar to Uma and possibly generalizable to many psammophilic squamates. Physiological stress related to difficult breathing, physical difficulty in burying and inadequate substrate for nest excavation and incubation of eggs are all testable hypotheses that have been proposed as explanations for the correlation between sand grain composition and S. arenicolus distribution (Fitzgerald et al, 1997;Fitzgerald & Painter, 2009;Ryberg et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sand grain size composition influences subsurface oxygen diffusion and distribution of an endemic, psammophilic lizard

Ryberg

Fitzgerald

2014

Journal of Zoology

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Reptile species endemic to dune ecosystems worldwide possess morphological and behavioral adaptations for burying in sand. Specializations for burying and subsurface breathing among these animals are advantageous only where sand conditions permit. The patchy distributions of many psammophilic species are presumably due to the occurrence of suitable areas where attributes of the sand facilitate locomotion, burying, subsurface breathing and nesting. The endemic, dune-dwelling Sceloporus arenicolus does not occur in areas where sand grain size composition is relatively fine, and the distribution of the species appears limited to areas with coarse-grained sand. However, the exact mechanism by which this occurs is unknown. We hypothesized that subsurface breathing is inhibited in fine sand, and tested the prediction that fine sand restricts diffusion of oxygen. We compared oxygen diffusion rates in sand with grain size compositions matching sites where S. arenicolus was present (coarse sand) to diffusion rates in samples from sites where it was absent (fine sand). We found that samples with relatively coarse sand from sites where S. arenicolus was present had higher oxygen diffusion rates than samples with finer sand where S. arenicolus was absent. These results corroborated our prediction and support the hypothesis that subsurface breathing by S. arenicolus is constrained by fine sand. This is the first step in a line of research on the role of sand grain size composition in the life history of dune-dwelling reptiles and more experiments can build on this study. Our results have broad implications for the conservation of all strictly psammophilic species by improving our understanding of the habitat elements necessary for their survival and persistence.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sand grain size composition influences subsurface oxygen diffusion and distribution of an endemic, psammophilic lizard

Ryberg

Fitzgerald

2014

Journal of Zoology

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“…In this study, we believe S. arenicolus may have had larger MCP home ranges in fragmented habitat due to habitat alteration caused by fragmentation which essentially reduces the availability of preferred microhabitats (Hibbitts et al 2013). This may have forced individuals to traverse unpreferred microhabitats to reach preferred microhabitats (e.g., steep slopes [Hibbitts et al 2013], coarse sand-grain size , high soil moisture [Ryberg et al 2012] …”

Section: R a F Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fragmentation alters home range and movements of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporusarenicolus)

et al. 2018

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Habitat fragmentation is a major driver of biodiversity loss and among reptiles has been attributed as a cause of species decline. The negative effect of habitat fragmentation has also been shown to be worse for species that are habitat specialists. The Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus Degenhardt and Jones 1972) is a species that specializes on the Shinnery Oak sand dune landform of the Mescalero-Monahans Sandhills ecosystem in western Texas and eastern New Mexico, USA. This landform has been fragmented by roads and well pads used for the extraction of oil and gas resources. The effects of fragmentation on the home range and movements of this species can lead to the effective isolation of populations and increased risk of localized extirpations. We showed that home range size was larger in an unfragmented area and that the average distance of movements was greater. We also observed that roads in the fragmented areas restricted movements of S. arenicolus. We concluded that roads can be barriers to movements even though only narrow strips of habitat are altered.

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“…Sceloporus arenicolus is endemic to the Mescalero-Monahans Sandhills, a small and restricted ecosystem. Within this ecosystem S. arenicolus is an ecological specialist that only occurs in dunes stabilized by growing shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) that contain open sandy depressions (Fitzgerald & Painter 2009;Ryberg et al 2012). Land use in the region has contributed to loss and fragmentation of shinnery dunes habitat, and the conservation status of the species is of growing concern to natural resource agencies, oil and gas interests, and landowners (Smolensky & Fitzgerald, 2010;2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of the systematic status of <i>Sceloporus arenicolus</i> Degenhardt and Jones, 1972 with an estimate of divergence time

Chan

Archie²,

Yoder³

et al. 2013

Zootaxa

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The sagebrush lizards (Sceloporus graciosus group) consist of four taxa (S. graciosus graciosus, S. graciosus gracilis, S. graciosus vandenburgianus, and S. arenicolus) distributed in western North America. Of these, S. arenicolus is morphologically, behaviorally, and ecologically distinct as well as geographically disjunct from the other taxa, occurring only in the Mescalero-Monahans Sandhills of southeastern New Mexico and adjacent Texas. Sceloporus arenicolus is a taxon of concern because of its small range and habitat alteration due to land use practices. Understanding evolutionary relationships among members of the S. graciosus group, and especially S. arenicolus, has important implications for conservation. We examine the phylogenetic relationship of S. arenicolus relative to the three recognized subspecies of S. graciosus at mitochondrial and nuclear loci for populations sampled throughout the ranges of these taxa. Additionally, we estimate the divergence time and clade age of S. arenicolus. We find that the S. graciosus group is in need of major taxonomic revision, and also confirm that S. arenicolus is a genetically distinct and divergent lineage. These results bear important consequences for conservation and management.

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Observations on the Nesting Ecology and Early Life History of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus)

Cited by 12 publications

References 10 publications

Sand grain size composition influences subsurface oxygen diffusion and distribution of an endemic, psammophilic lizard

Sand grain size composition influences subsurface oxygen diffusion and distribution of an endemic, psammophilic lizard

Fragmentation alters home range and movements of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporusarenicolus)

Review of the systematic status of <i>Sceloporus arenicolus</i> Degenhardt and Jones, 1972 with an estimate of divergence time

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