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Competing for crevices: interspecific conflict influences retreat-site selection in montane lizards

  • Behavioural Ecology
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Abstract

Direct interference competition between sympatric taxa affects habitat use and shelter-site selection in species within most major vertebrate lineages. However, studies on interspecific social interference in reptiles largely have been confined to research on interactions between non-native (invasive) species and native fauna. Does interspecific interference also influence habitat use within natural assemblages of reptiles? We studied five broadly sympatric species of viviparous montane skinks within the genera Egernia and Eulamprus in southeastern Australia. Previous work has shown strong interspecific overlap in abiotic attributes of shelter-sites for these taxa, but no joint occupancy of retreats. Laboratory trials in which we manipulated the identity of co-occurring lizards revealed frequent displacement from “preferred” (hotter) shelters, with interspecific interactions more intense than intraspecific conflicts. The five species displayed a linear interspecific dominance hierarchy, with larger species displacing smaller taxa. Field manipulations confirmed that interspecific interactions between these species affect shelter-site use. We conclude that direct agonistic encounters between individuals of different species strongly influence habitat use by lizards within this assemblage.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. Iglesias, I. Van Hazel, K. Robert, and J. Herbert for assistance in the field, and D. O’Connor for sharing his insights into the ecology of montane skinks. The research presented here adhered to the ESA Code of Ethics, the legal requirements of Australia and the ethics guidelines for the University of Sydney, NSW. Animal collection was authorized by NSW Scientific Purposes Permit B2449. Financial support was provided by the Australian Research Council (to R. Shine).

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  1. Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Tracy Langkilde & Richard Shine

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  1. Tracy Langkilde
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Correspondence to Tracy Langkilde.

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Langkilde, T., Shine, R. Competing for crevices: interspecific conflict influences retreat-site selection in montane lizards. Oecologia 140, 684–691 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1640-1

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