Artificial Water Point for Livestock Influences Spatial Ecology of a Native Lizard Species

PloS One
Stephan T Leu, C Michael Bull

Abstract

Pastoralism is a major agricultural activity in drier environments, and can directly and indirectly impact native species in those areas. We investigated how the supply of an artificial watering point to support grazing livestock affected movement and activity patterns of the Australian sleepy lizard (Tiliqua rugosa) during a drought year. We observed 23 adult lizards; six had access to a dam, whereas 17 lizards did not. Lizards with access to the dam had larger home ranges, were substantially active on more days (days with >100 steps), and moved more steps per day compared to lizards that did not have access to the dam, both during the early and late period of our observation. Furthermore, while the two groups of lizards had similar body condition early in the season, they differed later in the season. Lizards with dam access retained, whereas lizards without access lost body condition. Local heterogeneity in access to an artificial water resource resulted in spatially dependent behavioural variation among sleepy lizard individuals. This suggests that sleepy lizards have flexible responses to changing climatic conditions, depending on the availability of water. Furthermore, while reducing activity appears a suitable short term...Continue Reading

References

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Aug 31, 2010·Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology·Stephan T LeuC Michael Bull
Apr 9, 2011·Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology·Stephan T LeuC Michael Bull
Apr 19, 2012·Integrative and Comparative Biology·Harvey B LillywhiteJoseph B Pfaller
Mar 29, 2013·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Christian D WrightDale F DeNardo

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Citations

Oct 23, 2021·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Marcus MichelangeliAndrew Sih

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