Life at the interface: ecology of Prionodactylus oshaughnessyi in the western Amazon and comparisons with P. argulus and P. eigenmanni

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 302-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie J Vitt ◽  
Teresa Cristina S. Avila-Pires ◽  
Peter A Zani ◽  
Maria Cristina Espósito ◽  
Shawn S Sartorius
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Null Model ◽  
Prey Type ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Insect Larvae ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Amazonian Rain Forest ◽  
Arboreal Habitat

The gymnophthalmid lizard Prionodactylus oshaughnessyi was studied at two Amazonian rain-forest sites. These lizards live at the interface of the terrestrial habitat and arboreal habitat, are active throughout the day at relatively low body temperatures, and maintain body temperatures (29.0 ± 0.34°C) slightly higher than ambient temperatures. Grasshoppers and crickets, roaches, insect larvae, and spiders dominate their carnivorous diet. Sexual size dimorphism is not apparent but differences in coloration and relative head size exist, with males having brighter and more vivid coloration and a relatively larger head. Differences in activity time, prey type, prey size, and microhabitat use exist between populations. A comparison of three species of Prionodactylus from Amazonian rain forest revealed some ecological similarity. However, differences in microhabitat use and diet exist. Differences in Baupläne were consistent with differences in microhabitat use. Dietary overlaps were relatively low; nevertheless, diets of the Prionodactylus species were more similar to each other than expected, based on a null model analysis in which a sampling of all diets was used for comparison.

Behavioural ecology ofTropidurus hispiduson isolated rock outcrops in Amazonia

1996 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie J. Vitt ◽  
Peter A. Zani ◽  
Janalee P. Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
Observational Studies ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Insect Larvae ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Rock Outcrops ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Mean Size ◽  
Northern Brazil

ABSTRACTA population of the tropical lizardTropidurus hispidus, isolated on a granitic rock outcrop in tropical forest of northern Brazil, was studied during the 1993 wet season. Four types of observational studies revealed that lizards are active throughout most of the day. During 10-minute intervals, individual lizards moved five times for an average of 240 cm and tongue-flicked once. Habitat temperatures vary considerably during the day, with rock and air temperatures in sun exceeding body temperatures of lizards during much of the activity period. During most of the day, lizards thermoregulate by moving among shady, filtered sun, and sunny microhabitats maintaining body temperatures near 35°C. Temperatures of lizards active during cloudy periods were significantly lower than temperatures of lizards during sunny periods, indicating that clouds decrease the ability of lizards to effectively thermoregulate. Most feeding occurs in the afternoon at edges of rock outcrops with ants, insect larvae, termites and beetles dominating the diet. Comparisons with a near-by savanna population revealed differences in body size (males only), activity period (longer on rocks), body temperatures (higher on rocks), number of prey categories consumed (lower on rocks), mean size of prey (larger on rocks), number of prey eaten (fewer on rocks) and microhabitat use (more restricted on rocks).

scholarly journals Thermal ecology of the federally endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen N Ivey ◽  
Margaret Cornwall ◽  
Hayley Crowell ◽  
Nargol Ghazian ◽  
Emmeleia Nix ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Endangered Species ◽  
Thermal Tolerance ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Thermal Ecology ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Open Habitat ◽  
Kangaroo Rat ◽  
Upper Thermal Tolerance

Abstract Recognizing how climate change will impact populations can aid in making decisions about approaches for conservation of endangered species. The blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila) is a federally endangered species that, despite protection, remains in extremely arid, hot areas and may be at risk of extirpation due to climate change. We collected data on the field-active body temperatures, preferred body temperatures and upper thermal tolerance of G. sila. We then described available thermal habitat using biophysical models, which allowed us to (i) describe patterns in lizard body temperatures, microhabitat temperatures and lizard microhabitat use; (ii) quantify the lizards’ thermoregulatory accuracy; (iii) calculate the number of hours they are currently thermally restricted in microhabitat use; (iv) project how the number of restricted hours will change in the future as ambient temperatures rise; and (v) assess the importance of giant kangaroo rat burrows and shade-providing shrubs in the current and projected future thermal ecology of G. sila. Lizards maintained fairly consistent daytime body temperatures over the course of the active season, and use of burrows and shrubs increased as the season progressed and ambient temperatures rose. During the hottest part of the year, lizards shuttled among kangaroo rat burrows, shrubs, and open habitat to maintain body temperatures below their upper thermal tolerance, but, occasionally, higher than their preferred body temperature range. Lizards are restricted from staying in the open habitat for 75% of daylight hours and are forced to seek refuge under shrubs or burrows to avoid surpassing their upper thermal threshold. After applying climatic projections of 1 and 2°C increases to 2018 ambient temperatures, G. sila will lose additional hours of activity time that could compound stressors faced by this population, potentially leading to extirpation.

Geographical ecology of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus ecpleopus in the Amazon rain forest

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (9) ◽  
pp. 1671-1680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie J Vitt ◽  
Peter A Zani ◽  
Teresa Cristina Avila-Pires ◽  
Maria Cristina Espósito
Keyword(s):  
Prey Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Prey Type ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Lowland Tropical Forest ◽  
Amazon Rain Forest ◽  
Substrate Temperatures

Lizards in four distantly separated populations of the gymnophthalmid lizard Neusticurus ecpleopus in the Amazon region of South America were strikingly specific in habitat and microhabitat use, being restricted to streams and swamps and living between the water line and the bank-forest interface. They were as likely to be active during cloudy periods as during sunny periods, but most individuals were not exposed to direct insolation while active. Activity occurred through much of the day, with most activity at two sites during between 11:00 and 14:30. Body temperatures were 27.0 ± 0.02°C and were correlated with substrate temperatures. Body temperatures were higher than substrate temperatures, indicating behavioral or possibly physiological thermoregulation. These lizards ate a variety of prey, but eight prey categories accounted for a major proportion of the total diet at all sites. There were differences among sites in prey type, prey size, relative prey size, and total stomach fullness. Even though there was some size variation among sites, variation in other morphological characters was more striking. Even withstanding the differences among populations in ecological and morphological characteristics, it appears that much of the ecology of N. ecpleopus is constrained by fidelity to specific habitat patches (stream banks) distributed linearly through lowland tropical forest.

Soil CO2 exchange in seven pristine Amazonian rain forest sites in relation to soil temperature

2014 ◽  
Vol 192-193 ◽  
pp. 96-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrício B. Zanchi ◽  
Antoon G.C.A. Meesters ◽  
Maarten J. Waterloo ◽  
Bart Kruijt ◽  
Jürgen Kesselmeier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Co2 Exchange ◽  
Soil Co2 ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Amazonian Rain Forest

scholarly journals Contrasting capabilities of two ungulate species to cope with extremes of aridity

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda Boyers ◽  
Francesca Parrini ◽  
Norman Owen-Smith ◽  
Barend F. N. Erasmus ◽  
Robyn S. Hetem
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High Water ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores ◽  
Dry Seasons ◽  
Connochaetes Taurinus

AbstractSouthern Africa is expected to experience increased frequency and intensity of droughts through climate change, which will adversely affect mammalian herbivores. Using bio-loggers, we tested the expectation that wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), a grazer with high water-dependence, would be more sensitive to drought conditions than the arid-adapted gemsbok (Oryx gazella gazella). The study, conducted in the Kalahari, encompassed two hot-dry seasons with similar ambient temperatures but differing rainfall patterns during the preceding wet season. In the drier year both ungulates selected similar cooler microclimates, but wildebeest travelled larger distances than gemsbok, presumably in search of water. Body temperatures in both species reached lower daily minimums and higher daily maximums in the drier season but daily fluctuations were wider in wildebeest than in gemsbok. Lower daily minimum body temperatures displayed by wildebeest suggest that wildebeest were under greater nutritional stress than gemsbok. Moving large distances when water is scarce may have compromised the energy balance of the water dependent wildebeest, a trade-off likely to be exacerbated with future climate change.

Floral Scent Attraction in Geonoma macrostachys, an Understorey Palm of the Amazonian Rain Forest

Oikos ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jette T. Knudsen ◽  
Susanna Andersson ◽  
Peter Bergman
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Floral Scent ◽  
Amazonian Rain Forest

Phenological development and seasonal distribution of the rutherglen bug, Nnysius vinitor Bergroth (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae), on various hosts in Victoria, south-eastern Australia

1988 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garrick McDonald ◽  
A. Mark Smith
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Development ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Polygonum Aviculare ◽  
Developmental Thresholds ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Weed Hosts ◽  
Maximum Temperatures

AbstractPopulations of Nysius vinitor Bergroth were studied from 1979 to 1982 in two weed hosts, Arctotheca calendula and Polygonum aviculare, and eight irrigated sunflower crops in a summer cropping area of northern Victoria, Australia. The spring generation began with the adults colonizing flowering A.calendula plants in September and concluded with the rapid development of late stage nymphs and an exodus of adults from these plants from mid-November to December. Gradual invasion of sunflowers occurred mostly in late December and reached a peak at flowering, after which nymphs appeared. P. aviculare attracted adults from February and hosted a number of overlapping generations until winter. The weed sustained diminishing numbers of adults through the winter, except in 1982, when a further generation produced an early spring peak. Immigrant populations were regarded as a common source of adults for initiating the spring and summer generations. The rate of development of N. vinitor in spring was more rapid than that predicted by phenological simulation based on ambient temperatures and laboratory-derived day-degree estimates. This was attributed to increased body temperatures through absorption of solar radiation, and the simulation model was adjusted by increasing daily minimum and maximum temperatures by 1·3 and 5·5°C for young and older instars, respectively. This suggested that older nymphs have lower developmental thresholds or are better able to optimize body temperatures.

scholarly journals Association of Ant Predators and Edaphic Conditions with Termite Diversity in an Amazonian Rain Forest

Biotropica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian S. Dambros ◽  
José W. Morais ◽  
Alexandre Vasconcellos ◽  
Jorge L. P. Souza ◽  
Elizabeth Franklin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Edaphic Conditions ◽  
Amazonian Rain Forest

Congruence between floristic patterns of trees and lianas in a southwest Amazonian rain forest

Ecography ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel J. Macía ◽  
Kalle Ruokolainen ◽  
Hanna Tuomisto ◽  
Javier Quisbert ◽  
Victoria Cala
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Floristic Patterns ◽  
Amazonian Rain Forest

The estimation of temporal processes in tropical rain forest: a study of primary mixed dipterocarp forest in Indonesia

1985 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soedarsono Riswan ◽  
J. B. Kenworthy ◽  
Kuswata Kartawinata
Keyword(s):  
Time Scale ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Tropical Rain Forest ◽  
Gap Formation ◽  
Growth Rings ◽  
Secondary Species ◽  
East Kalimantan ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Individual Trees

ABSTRACTIn the absence of growth rings it is difficult to give a precise time scale for processes associated with the re-establishment of tropical rain forest. This paper explores other methods by which a time scale may be constructed. The proportions of primary and secondary species, an index of similarity, biomass measurements, girth dimensions and gap size are all considered from sites in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Data from primary, secondary and experimentally cleared forest sites are compared to estimate the minimum time required for various phases involved in the re-establishment of tropical rain forest after disturbance. A simple model is proposed to accommodate the data and other estimates in the literature. The model predicts a minimum period for the stablization of secondary species numbers as 60–70 years and the replacement of primary species as 150 years at which point gap formation is initiated. After approximately 220–250 years biomass stabilizes while individual trees exist for over 500 years.

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