Abstract

GARCIA-DE LA PENA, Cristina; GADSDEN, Héctor; CONTRERAS-BALDERAS, Armando J.  and  CASTANEDA, Gamaliel. Daily and seasonal activity patterns of a lizard guild in the sand dunes of Viesca, Coahuila, Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2007, vol.78, n.1, pp.141-147. ISSN 2007-8706.

In 2002, daily and seasonal activity patterns of the lizards Uta stejnegeri, Uma exsul, and Aspidoscelis marmorata were evaluated in a dune habitat in the southwestern portion of Coahuila, Mexico. Methods included surveying a 500 m transect once per hour between 0700 and 1900 for 7 days each season during the spring, summer and fall. The number of active lizards, air and substrate temperatures, and relative humidity were recorded. A standardized Levins Index and Pianka’s method were used to measure temporal niche breadth and overlap, respectively. In each of the 3 seasons, U. stejnegeri was active earlier than U. exsul, and U. exsul was active before A. marmorata. The 3 species showed a bimodal activity pattern during spring and summer, and unimodal in fall. Aspidoscelis marmorata showed the smallest niche breadth in the 3 seasons. For each species, preferred body temperature and environmental temperature seem to dictate activity patterns of this lizard guild at Viesca.

Keywords : Uta stejnegeri; Uma exsul; Aspidoscelis marmorata; temporal niche.

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