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Esse estudo teve como objetivo relatar o uso do Implante Visível de Elastômero Fluorescente (IVE) e sua eficiência na marcação de lagartos Phyllopezus pollicaris em uma área de caatinga no Nordeste do Brasil. A marcação dos indivíduos foi realizada durante os meses de abril á setembro de 2012. Quarenta indivíduos foram marcados na região dorsal com as cores fluorescentes: vermelho, amarelo, verde e laranja. Vinte lagartos foram recapturados e apresentaram uma boa retenção do elastômero. Apenas dois espécimes apresentam suas marcações um pouco fragmentadas. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que a utilização de IVE para marcação e recaptura de lagartos foi eficiente devido à alta taxa de retenção nos indivíduos recapturados e baixa taxa de fragmentação das marcações.

Spatial and temporal variations can influence the abundance and biology of parasite species and even the transmission process, as well as the diet, reproduction and distribution of hosts. We studied the influence of seasonality on the diet and endoparasites of the lizard Strobilurus torquatus. The lizards were collected during a period of one year, in the Engenho Gargaú Private Reserve of Natural Heritage, located in the municipality of Santa Rita, in the state of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil. Thirty-three lizards were analysed, of which 30 were parasitised (overall prevalence of 90%) with the helminths Physaloptera lutzi (prevalence of 69.6%), Spauligodon loboi (51.5%), Strongyluris oscari (15.1%) and Haplometroides odhneri (3.0%). Our analysis showed that endoparasite abundance was influenced by host body size. Host sex also influenced endoparasite abundance, where males were parasitised more than females. When comparing the two seasons (dry and rainy), we observed that the greatest endoparasites abundance occurred during the rainy season. Regarding the lizards' diet, we observed a high niche overlap (overlap index of 0.999), which indicates that males and females of S. torquatus consumed practically the same prey during the analysed period. The life cycle of the endoparasites found in S. torquatus was linked to seasonal variation, and the behavioural and physiological differences between sexes may have influenced the variations in endoparasite abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonsessile animals could partition the use of resources in different axes, reducing the effects of competition and allowing coexistence. Here, we investigated the spatial and trophic niche dimensions in four lizard assemblages in the Neotropical semiarid Caatinga to investigate the determinants of resource use and the extent to which lizards partition their niches. We sampled each lizard assemblage once, for 10 days, in the dry season of 2017 and 2018. In two lizard assemblages, we detected nonrandom niche overlap patterns that were higher or lower than expected by chance. The high niche overlap patterns suggest that either there is intense current competition for available microhabitats or an abundance of microhabitats. The lower niche overlap may be influenced by the presence of species adapted to sandy habitats (psammophilous), suggesting that spatial partitioning detected has historical basis, which is supported by the pPCA results and by the lack of patterns in the realized niche distribution of species across niche space. We detected trophic niche partitioning in three lizard assemblages. In one assemblage, we discovered random spatial and trophic niche overlap patterns, revealing that competition is not a determining factor in the structure of that assemblage. In fact, phylogenetic effects were predominantly the main determinants of resource use in the four studied lizard assemblages. Arid and semiarid habitats cover about one third of land surface of the world. Comparisons between our findings and those from other regions of the world may aid identify general trends in the lizard ecology of dry environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the niche relationship between the frogs Physalaemus albifrons and Physalaemus cicada in temporary ponds in the semiarid Caatinga. We analysed niche breadth and its overlap based on spatial (microhabitat), trophic (diet composition), temporal (calling period), acoustic (advertisement call), and morphological aspects to evaluate the relationship between the species. Both species called in January, March, October and November; and calling activity was positively correlated with air temperature. We found differences in substrate type, with P. albifrons remaining partially submerged and P. cicada mainly using holes and also in the distance from the edge of the ponds, with P. cicada occurring further from the edge than P. albifrons. However, calling males of both species used the water surface as a calling microhabitat. Despite of that, pseudocommunity analysis indicated the absence of competition in the use of these microhabitats. Ants were the most important item in the diet of P. albifrons, while collembolans were the most important item for P. cicada. The analysis showed the absence of a random pattern in the use of food resources, indicating competition. Physalaemus albifrons had the largest snout-vent length and a longer head, while P. cicada had the smallest snout-vent length and a wider head. Canonical correlation analysis demonstrated an association between the prey measurements and the head size of the frogs. Advertisement calls were different between the species, with the call of P. albifrons being composed of a single note and P. cicada producing a long chirp consisting of several notes. Despite the spatial partition, which is considered to be the primary regulator of the relationship between species in anuran assemblages, our results indicated that food and acoustic partitions are more important in the temporary ponds studied, allowing the coexistence of the two species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we investigate the autecology of the poorly known lizard Anotosaura vanzolinia (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) and describe diet, reproductive biology and morphological aspects, testing hypotheses of seasonality and ontogenetic differences. We collected 154 specimens (44 males, 41 females and 69 juveniles) from April 2011 to June 2014, where 101 were found buried in soil. Their diet consists mainly of arthropods found within its microhabitat, including ants and termites, but differences were found between adults and juveniles, and between seasons. Reproduction occurs during the wet season, even though reproductive males could be found in almost all months of the year. Females have fixed clutch size of two eggs, producing more than one clutch during the reproductive season; the incubation period is about 43 to 49 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]