Ecology of Horned Lizards: A Review with Special Reference to Phrynosoma platyrhinos

Copeia ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 1975 (1) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric R. Pianka ◽  
William S. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Phrynosoma Platyrhinos ◽  
Horned Lizards

Spatial and seasonal dietary patterns of the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos): harvester ant specialist or generalist ant feeder?

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.A. Scott Newbold ◽  
James A. MacMahon
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
Feeding Strategy ◽  
Harvester Ants ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Feeding Specialization ◽  
Phrynosoma Platyrhinos ◽  
Horned Lizards ◽  
Specialist Predators

A suite of factors including prey availability and prey defenses influence prey selection by consumers and ultimately define an animal’s feeding strategy (e.g., generalist or specialist). Here we examined the relationship between availability and selection of ants by the desert horned lizard ( Phrynosoma platyrhinos Girard, 1852) to test the hypothesis that P. platyrhinos are specialist predators on harvester ants, and to investigate which factors influence the prey preference of lizards. Variation in ant availability and lizard diets was assessed using 83 plots established along a Great Basin shrub–steppe bajada in northwestern Utah, USA. Across the study site, 14 of 20 ant species were represented in the lizard diet. However, 70% of that diet consisted of just two species. In contrast to previous studies, P. platyrhinos did not show a disproportionate preference for harvester ants. Instead, larger ants of any species (including harvester ants) were preferentially selected over medium-sized and smaller ants. These findings suggest that desert horned lizards demonstrate an opportunistic feeding strategy in which lizards select ants based on their body size and abundance. More generally, these results emphasize the importance of assessing predator response across naturally varying gradients in prey availability to evaluate feeding specialization.

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