Thermal ecology,activity pattern,habitat, and microhabitats used by the skink Mabuya arajara (Squamata: Scincidae) in the Araripe Plateau,northeastern Brazil |
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| Authors: | Samuel Cardozo Ribeiro Diego Alves Teles Daniel Oliveira Mesquita Waltécio de Oliveira Almeida Luciano Alves dos Anjos Miriam Camargo Guarnieri |
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| Institution: | 1. Laboratório de Biologia e Ecologia de Animais Silvestres – LABEAS, Instituto de Forma??o de Educadores – IFE, Universidade Federal do Cariri – UFCA, Ceará, Brazil;2. Programa de Pós-Gradua??o em Bioprospec??o Molecular, Universidade Regional do Cariri – URCA, Crato, Brazil;3. Departamento de Química Biológica, Universidade Regional do Cariri – URCA, Crato, Brazilribeiroherpeto@gmail.com;5. Programa de Pós-Gradua??o em Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba – UFPB, Jo?o Pessoa, Brazil;6. Programa de Pós-Gradua??o em Bioprospec??o Molecular, Universidade Regional do Cariri – URCA, Crato, Brazil;7. Departamento de Química Biológica, Universidade Regional do Cariri – URCA, Crato, Brazil;8. Faculdade de Engenharia de Ilha Solteira, Departamento de Biologia e Zootecnia, UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, Campus de Ilha Solteira, Ilha Solteira, Brazil;9. Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva, UNIFESP – Universidade Federal de S?o Paulo, Diadema, S?o Paulo, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACTWe evaluated the activity period, thermal ecology, habitats, and preference for microhabitats of the skink Mabuya arajara in a humid forest environment on the slope of the Araripe Plateau, Brazil. A total of 283 lizards were observed. The lizards were found to be diurnally active (unimodal type pattern), with peak activity during the hottest hours of the day (1100 to 1200). About habitat use, the majority of individuals (73.8% N = 209) were recorded in the narrow transitional area, in the edges of the forest; while 26.4% of individuals were observed in open areas and no observations were made in dense forest. Seven different types of microhabitats were used, with fallen palm leaves (Arecaceae) being the preferred (47.7% N = 135). Considering all lizards, microhabitat niche breadth was 3.27. Males and females presented a high overlap (0.95) in microhabitat use. The average Tc recorded for M. arajara was 32.06 ± 2.72°C. Body size (SVL) did not influence body temperature (F = 0.51, P = > 0.05). Most of the animals were observed with their bodies completely exposed (67.84%, N = 192), 18.37% (N = 52) were semi-exposed and 13.79% (N = 39) were in shelters. Among animals with some degree of sunlight exposure, 57.59% (N = 163) were in shadows, 25.10% (N = 71) were under sunlight filtered by vegetation, and 17.31% (N = 49) were under direct sunlight.A review of the ecology of Mabuya spp. shows that several features appear to be conserved among members of the genus. |
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| Keywords: | Lizard Natural History Thermoregulation Chapada do Araripe Copeoglossum arajara |
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