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McAlpine‐Bellis E, Utsumi KL, Diamond KM, Klein J, Gilbert‐Smith S, Garrison GE, Eifler MA, Eifler DA. Movement patterns and habitat use for the sympatric species: Gambelia wislizenii and Aspidoscelis tigris. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10422. [PMID: 37575589 PMCID: PMC10413956 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Movement is an important characteristic of an animal's ecology, reflecting the perception of and response to environmental conditions. To effectively search for food, movement patterns likely depend on habitat characteristics and the sensory systems used to find prey. We examined movements associated with foraging for two sympatric species of lizards inhabiting the Great Basin Desert of southeastern Oregon. The two species have largely overlapping diets but find prey via different sensory cues, which link to their differing foraging strategies-the long-nosed leopard lizard, Gambelia wislizenii, is a visually-oriented predator, while the western whiptail, Aspidoscelis tigris, relies more heavily on chemosensory cues to find prey. Using detailed focal observations, we characterized the habitat use and movement paths of each species. We placed markers at the location of focal animals every minute for the duration of each 30-min observation. Afterward, we recorded whether each location was in the open or in vegetation, as well as the movement metrics of step length, path length, net displacement, straightness index, and turn angle, and then made statistical comparisons between the two species. The visual forager spent more time in open areas, moved less frequently over shorter distances, and differed in patterns of plant use compared to the chemosensory forager. Path characteristics of step length and turn angle differed between species. The visual predator moved in a way that was consistent with the notion that they require a clear visual path to stalk prey whereas the movement of the chemosensory predator increased their chances of detecting prey by venturing further into vegetation. Sympatric species can partition limited resources through differences in search behavior and habitat use.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kaera L. Utsumi
- Erell InstituteLawrenceKansasUSA
- Biodiversity InstituteUniversity of KansasLawrenceKansasUSA
| | | | - Janine Klein
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta BarbaraCaliforniaUSA
| | | | | | - Maria A. Eifler
- Erell InstituteLawrenceKansasUSA
- Biodiversity InstituteUniversity of KansasLawrenceKansasUSA
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Utsumi K, Staley C, Núñez H, Eifler MA, Eifler DA. The social system of the lava lizard, Microlophus atacamensis: the interplay between social structure and social organization. Rev Chil de Hist Nat 2022. [DOI: 10.1186/s40693-022-00113-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Animal social systems can be described through four main components: social structure, social organization, mating system, and care system. Social structure describes the relationships between individuals in a population, while social organization describes the group composition, size, and spatiotemporal variation of a population. We use the frameworks of social structure and social organization to study the social system of Microlophus atacamensis, a lizard found in the rocky intertidal zone along the Chilean coast. The area M. atacamensis inhabits poses specific challenges stemming from their use of two distinct habitat types in the intertidal zone: they forage in the cool areas near the water’s edge and use large rocks in more inland areas for basking and refuge.
Methods
Our assessment of their social system focused on two separate populations: one to characterize social structure by means of focal observations and social network analysis, and a second to assess social organization via home range and core area analyses. Further, we examined the social system in two habitat types that comprise the intertidal zone: cobble fields and interspersed large rocks.
Results
Social network analysis revealed an interconnected network with a few highly central individuals. Body size influenced the outcomes of aggressive interactions, with interactions being more common in cobble fields where males had more associates and more repeated interactions than females. Spatial analyses revealed that the social organization of M. atacamensis is characterized by (1) high home range overlap, specifically in the cobble fields and (2) relatively exclusive core areas dispersed across both habitat types.
Conclusion
A social system is composed of both cooperative and competitive behaviors. While our study focused on competitive interactions, the extent and influence of cooperative behaviors is still unclear and merits future research. We suggest that M. atacamensis has a variable social system in which territoriality on large rocks affects access to stationary resources in that habitat (e.g., basking sites and refuges), while competition in the cobble fields could lay the foundation for a system of dominance relationships controlling access to variable food resources in cobble field areas of the intertidal zone.
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Eifler DA, Eifler MA, Garrison GE, Grotbeck VL. Escape angles for solitary animals and groups of the lizard Pholidoscelis fuscatus. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2022.2044386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Maria A. Eifler
- Erell Institute, 2808 Meadow Dr., Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
- Biodiversity Institute, Mammalogy Division, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | | | - Victoria L. Grotbeck
- Biodiversity Institute, Mammalogy Division, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
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Utsumi K, Staley C, Eifler MA, Núñez H, Eifler DA. Color Variation and Habitat Use in Liolaemus silvai. South American Journal of Herpetology 2021. [DOI: 10.2994/sajh-d-20-00015.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kaera Utsumi
- Department Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA
| | - Catherine Staley
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1474, USA
| | - Maria A. Eifler
- Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA
| | - Herman Núñez
- Joaquin Rodriguez 7328 casa H, comuna de Macul, región Metropolitana, Santiago, Chile
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Kusaka C, Utsumi K, Staley C, Pedersen R, Valdivia J, Liu E, Caracalas H, Reynolds H, Eifler MA, Eifler DA. Age-Dependent Search Behavior in the Colorado Checkered Whiptail (Aspidoscelis neotesselatus). WEST N AM NATURALIST 2021. [DOI: 10.3398/064.081.0404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carina Kusaka
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1474
| | - Kaera Utsumi
- Erell Institute, 2808 Meadow Drive, Lawrence, KS 66047
| | - Catherine Staley
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1474
| | - Rachael Pedersen
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1474
| | - Julia Valdivia
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1474
| | - Elizabeth Liu
- Undergraduate Biology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045
| | - Hannah Caracalas
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1474
| | - Hannah Reynolds
- Undergraduate Biology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045
| | | | - Douglas A. Eifler
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1474
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Utsumi K, Kusaka C, Pedersen R, Staley C, Dunlap L, Smith SG, Eifler MA, Eifler DA. Habitat-Dependent Search Behavior in the Colorado Checkered Whiptail (Aspidoscelis neotesselata). WEST N AM NATURALIST 2020. [DOI: 10.3398/064.080.0102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Carina Kusaka
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Rachael Pedersen
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Catherine Staley
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Lisa Dunlap
- Undergraduate Mathematics Program, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94702
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Garrison GE, Gebin JCZ, Penner JF, Jacobson FE, Eifler MA, Eifler DA. Intraspecific Variation In Habitat Use and Movement In Long-Nosed Leopard Lizards (Gambelia wislizenii) From the Alvord Basin, Oregon. SOUTHWEST NAT 2017. [DOI: 10.1894/0038-4909-62.3.187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Grace E. Garrison
- Erell Institute, 2808 Meadow Drive, Lawrence, KS 66047 (GEG, MAE, DAE)
| | - João C. Zecchini Gebin
- Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil (JCZG)
| | - Jacob F. Penner
- Biological Sciences Department, Goshen College, Goshen, IN 46526 (JFP)
| | - Faelan E. Jacobson
- Engineering Physics Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 (FEJ)
| | - Maria A. Eifler
- Erell Institute, 2808 Meadow Drive, Lawrence, KS 66047 (GEG, MAE, DAE)
| | - Douglas A. Eifler
- Erell Institute, 2808 Meadow Drive, Lawrence, KS 66047 (GEG, MAE, DAE)
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rheana Marchand
- Natural Resources Department, Salish Kootenai College, 58138 US Highway 93, Pablo, MT 59855, USA
| | | | - Keoleboge Malela
- Environmental Health Department, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
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Eifler DA, Eifler MA, Eifler EN. Habitat use and movement patterns in the graceful crag lizard,Pseudocordylus capensis. African Zoology 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/15627020.2007.11407391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Eifler DA, Eifler MA. Characteristics and Use of the Tail in Signaling by the Zebra-Tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides). SOUTHWEST NAT 2010. [DOI: 10.1894/gc-198.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Eifler MA, Slade NA. Activity patterns in relation to body mass and ambient temperature among overwintering cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus). CAN J ZOOL 1998. [DOI: 10.1139/z97-241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
We examined mass-specific activity patterns among overwintering cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) in northeastern Kansas. We livetrapped animals for a 24-h period, checking traps every 2 h. Trapping occurred every 2 weeks for 5 months. We estimated probability of capture for each mass class, time class, and date, then tested for differences in probability of capture (i.e., activity levels) using a General Linear Model with temperature as a covariate. Large cotton rats were significantly less active than small and intermediate-sized cotton rats. Activity of small cotton rats increased with decreasing temperature, whereas larger cotton rats were less responsive to temperature. Finally, activity levels of large and small cotton rats did not vary significantly with time of day, but intermediate-sized cotton rats were significantly less likely to be captured during the night than at dusk.
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Eifler MA, Slade NA. Activity patterns in relation to body mass and ambient temperature among overwintering cotton rats ( Sigmodon hispidus). CAN J ZOOL 1998. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-76-4-668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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G. RV, Pfister DH, Boise JR, Eifler MA. A Bibliography of Taxonomic Mycological Literature 1753-1821. Mycological Memoir No. 17. Mycologia 1991. [DOI: 10.2307/3760238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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