The Ecological Consequences of Habitat and Microhabitat Use in Lizards:

Abstract

We review the ecological consequences of habitat and microhabitat use in lizards. Different habitats have different biotic and abiotic properties and thus are likely to have different consequences for the lizards that occur in them. Individual performance and life histories are influenced by habitat use, particularly when habitats differ in thermal characteristics that may influence physiological processes or constrain activity. We know relatively little about how the effects of habitat use on individual performance translate into population dynamics. We do know that the ability of lizards to use particular habitats can influence the persistence of populations in the face of habitat changes. Community-level processes (e.g., competition) and community structure (e.g., diversity) can be influenced by habitat use in lizards, often by habitat use facilitating co-existence of two or more potentially competing species. We know relatively little about how other community processes, such as predation and parasitism, are influenced by habitat use.

The effects of weather conditions on dispersal behaviour of free‐ranging lizards (Tiliqua, Scincidae) in tropical Australia

“…Although an extensive literature documents the dependence of ectotherm locomotor ability on body temperature, and many cool‐climate ectotherms move about only during brief periods of suitably high temperatures (Bennett ; Adolph ; Huey ; Smith & Ballinger ; Brown & Shine ), our study provided little support for the idea that available temperatures are a major influence or constraint on lizard activity. In our analyses, body temperature only influenced lizard movement patterns at one of our study sites – possibly reflecting variation in temperature, rainfall and habitat type between the sites.…”

Density‐dependent habitat selection predicts fitness and abundance in a small lizard

“…We tested the hypothesis that density-dependent habitat selection can explain patterns of abundance of ornate tree lizards Urosaurus ornatus between two habitats with different vegetation structure that affects thermal quality and prey abundance. Lizards are a good system to test the importance of density-dependence in habitat selection by ectotherms because they occur at high densities and thus food may be limited, especially in warmer regions, and because their habitat selection is strongly influenced by temperature (Huey 1991, Smith andBallinger 2001). Furthermore, lizards are generally easy to capture, facilitating estimates of fitness proxies.…”

Where to live in Lisbon: urban habitat used by the introduced Italian wall lizard (<em>Podarcis siculus</em>)

“…In those environments, it has been observed that sympatric lacertids (namely Pod arcis muralis and P. siculus) are spatially organized according to each species specific ecological needs, and therefore not limited to interspecific interactions . Lizard species often tend to be associated with specific microhabitat patches, with minimized interspecific competition through their spatial niche distribution (Smith Ballinger, 2001;Rugiero Luiselli, 2007;Vitt Caldwell, 2014). However, there may be cases where the microhabitat occupied by a certain species is restricted by the presence of another (Arnold, 1987).…”