Register      Login
Pacific Conservation Biology Pacific Conservation Biology Society
A journal dedicated to conservation and wildlife management in the Pacific region.
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Annual response patterns in activity and demographic parameters of reptile species occupying a predictable Mediterranean climate

Richard A. How https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1113-5114 A B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.

B Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool DC, WA 6986, Australia.


Handling Editor: Mike Calver

Pacific Conservation Biology 30, PC24016 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC24016
Submitted: 5 March 2024  Accepted: 14 May 2024  Published: 6 June 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Annual patterns in behaviour and demography define longer-term changes in reptile populations, probability of species detection and risks of local extinction.

Aims

To determine seasonal activity and demographic parameters of species in an isolated assemblage adapted to a seasonally predictable climate.

Methods

A 37-year pitfall trapping, capture–release study in a 338-ha inner-city bushland experiencing a Mediterranean climate. Pit trap methodology changed after 7 years.

Results

Reproductive activity of 29 species peaked during austral spring to early summer with hatching or births occurring from late summer to early autumn. Growth, as determined from size changes over demi-monthly periods, indicated sexual maturity varied from <1 year to 5 years. Five of eight uniquely marked species had longevity exceeding a decade while individuals within six species moved over a kilometre. Dimorphism in adult length and mass was significantly greater in females for 15 of the 18 species with adequate data. Adult male activity peaked earlier in spring than adult females’ over the latter 30 years; hatchlings had different species-specific activity and annual cohort survival patterns. Activity declined in adults through summer and autumn before brumation in late autumn and winter in all species and age-size categories. Capture frequency in most species changed between methodologies.

Conclusions

Species had broadly similar seasonal activity but different demographic parameters within an isolated reptile assemblage currently experiencing increasing temperature and declining rainfall.

Implications

Comprehending seasonal variation is essential for interpreting decadal-long changes in reptile numbers experiencing a drying climate that alters activity, reproduction and survival to inform species detectability and likely extinction risk.

Keywords: activity, demographic parameters, detectability, local extinction risk, longevity, movement, reproduction, reptile populations, seasonal variation.

References

Aplin KP, How RA (1993) A window west: a perspective on Western Australian herpetology. In ‘Herpetology in Australia: a diverse discipline’. (Eds D Lunney, D Ayres) pp. 337–345. (Transactions of the Royal Zoology Society of New South Wales)

Bamford MJ, Calver MC (2015) A comparison of measures of abundance of reptiles in Kwongan vegetation of the South-West of Australia, determined through systematic searching and pitfall trapping. Australian Zoologist 37, 472-484.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Baverstock PR (1975) Effect of variations in rate of growth on physiological parameters in the lizard Amphibolurus ornatus. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology 51, 619-631.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Baverstock PR (1978) The probable basis of the relationship between growth rate and winter mortality in the lizard Amphibolurus ornatus (Agamidae). Oecologia 37, 101-107.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Beard JS, Chapman AR, Gioia P (2000) Species richness and endemism in the Western Australian flora. Journal of Biogeography 27, 1257-1268.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

BoM (2022) Australian climate variability & change – time series graphs (bom.gov.au), Southwestern Australia rainfall anomaly and mean temperature. Bureau of Meteorology.

Bradshaw SD (1971) Growth and mortality in a field population of Amphibolurus lizards exposed to seasonal cold and aridity. Journal of Zoology 165, 1-25.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bradshaw SD (1981) Ecophysiology of Australian desert lizards: studies on the genus Amphibolurus. In ‘Ecological biogeography of Australia’. (Ed. A Keast) pp. 1393–1434. (Junk: The Hague)

Bradshaw SD (1986) ‘Ecophysiology of desert reptiles.’ (Academic Press: Sydney)

Bush B, Maryan B, Browne-Cooper R, Robinson D (1995) ‘A guide to the reptiles and frogs of the Perth region.’ (University of Western Australia Press: Perth)

Chapman A, Dell J (1985) Biology and zoogeography of the amphibians and reptiles of the Western Australian wheatbelt. Records of Western Australian Museum 12, 1-46.
| Google Scholar |

Clutton-Brock T, Sheldon BC (2010) Individuals and populations: the role of long-term, individual-based studies of animals in ecology and evolutionary biology. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 25, 562-573.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Davidge C (1979) A census of a community of small terrestrial vertebrates. Australian Journal of Ecology 4, 165-170.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Davidge C (1980) Reproduction in the herpetofaunal community of a Banksia woodland near Perth, W.A. Australian Journal of Zoology 28, 435-443.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Davis RA, Gole C, Roberts JD (2013) Impacts of urbanisation on the native avifauna of Perth, Western Australia. Urban Ecosystems 16, 427-452.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Dell J, How RA (1995) Faunal response to fire in urban bushland. In ‘Burning our bushland’. (Ed. J Harris) pp. 35–41. (Urban Bushland Council WA: Perth)

Di Castri F (1991) Chapter 1: An ecological overview of the five regions of the world with Mediterranean climate. In ‘Biogeography of Mediterranean invasions’. (Eds RH Groves, F Di Castri) pp. 3–15. (Cambridge University Press)

Dunstan T (2013) The feasibility of using panchromatic photographs (1963–1999) and a GIS to detect fire disturbances and develop a historic fire history for Bold Park. p. 12. Report to the Botanic Gardens Parks Authority, Perth, Western Australia.

Frýdlová P, Mrzílková J, Šeremeta M, Křemen J, Dudák J, Žemlička J, Minnich B, Kverková K, Němec P, Zach P, Frynta D (2020) Determinate growth is predominant and likely ancestral in squamate reptiles. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287, 20202737.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Gaston KJ, Fuller RA (2008) Commonness, population depletion and conservation biology. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 23, 14-19.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Goodyear SE, Pianka ER (2008) Sympatric ecology of five species of fossorial snakes (Elapidae) in Western Australia. Journal of Herpetology 42, 279-285.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hanski I, Ovaskainen O (2002) Extinction debt at extinction threshold. Conservation Biology 16, 666-673.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hero J-M, Castley J, Malone M, Lawson B, Magnusson W (2010) Long-term ecological research in Australia: innovative approaches for future benefits. Australian Zoologist 35, 216-228.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hopper SD, Gioia P (2004) The southwest Australian floristic region: evolution and conservation of a global hot spot of biodiversity. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 35, 623-650.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

How RA (1998) Long-term sampling of a herpetofaunal assemblage on an isolated urban bushland remnant, Bold Park, Perth. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 81, 143-148.
| Google Scholar |

How RA, Dell J (1990) Vertebrate fauna of Bold Park. Western Australian Naturalist 18, 122-131.
| Google Scholar |

How RA, Dell J (1994) The zoogeographic significance of urban bushland remnants to reptiles in the Perth region, Western Australia. Pacific Conservation Biology 1, 132-140.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

How RA, Dell J (2000) Ground vertebrate fauna of Perth’s vegetation remnants: impact of 170 years of urbanization. Pacific Conservation Biology 6, 198-217.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

How RA, Kitchener DJ (1983) The biology of the gecko Oedura reticulata Bustard, in a small habitat isolate in the Western Australian wheatbelt. Australian Wildlife Research 10, 543-556.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

How RA, Shine R (1999) Ecological traits and conservation biology of five fossorial ‘sand-swimming’ snake species (Simoselaps: Elapidae) in south-western Australia. Journal of Zoology 249, 269-282.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

How RA, Dell J, Wellington BD (1986) Comparative biology of eight species of Diplodactylus gecko in Western Australia. Herpetolgica 42, 471-482.
| Google Scholar |

How RA, Cowan MA, Teale RJ, Schmitt LH (2020) Environmental correlates of reptile variation on the Houtman Abrolhos archipelago, eastern Indian Ocean. Journal of Biogeography 47, 2017-2028.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

How RA, Cowan MA, How JR (2022) Decadal abundance patterns in an isolated urban reptile assemblage: monitoring under a changing climate. Ecology and Evolution 12, e9081.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

IUCN (2012) IUCN red list categories and criteria. Version 3.1. Available at https://www.iucn.org/resources/publication/iucn-red-list-categories-and-criteria-version-31

Keighery GJ, Harvey J, Keighery BJ (1990) Vegetation and flora of Bold Park, Perth. Western Australian. Naturalist 18, 100-121.
| Google Scholar |

Kitchener DJ, Chapman A, Barron G (1978) Mammals of the northern Swan Coastal Plain. In ‘Faunal studies of the Northern Swan Coastal Plain: a consideration of past and future changes’. pp. 54–92. (Western Australian Museum Report to Department of Conservation & Environment: WA, Perth)

Kitchener DJ, Chapman A, Dell J, Muir BG, Palmer M (1980a) Lizard assemblage and reserve size and structure in the Western Australian wheatbelt – some implications for conservation. Biological Conservation 17, 25-62.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kitchener DJ, Chapman A, Muir BG, Palmer M (1980b) The conservation value for mammals of reserves in the western Australian wheatbelt. Biological Conservation 18, 179-207.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kitchener DJ, Dell J, Muir BG, Palmer M (1982) Birds in Western Australian Wheatbelt reserves – implications for conservation. Biological Conservation 22, 127-163.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kitchener DJ, How RA, Dell J (1988) Biology of Oedura reticulata and Gehyra variegata (Gekkonidae) in an isolated woodland of Western Australia. Journal of Herpetology 22, 401-412.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Lamont BB, Downes S, Fox JED (1977) Importance–value curves and diversity indices applied to a species-rich heathland in Western Australia. Nature 265, 438-441.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Li Y, Hopkins AJM, Davis RA (2023) Going, going, gone the diminishing capacity of museum specimen collections to address global change research: a case study on urban reptiles. Animals 13, 1078.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Lindenmayer DB, Likens GE, Andersen A, Bowman D, Bull CM, Burns E, Dickman CR, Hoffman AA, Keith DA, Liddell MJ, Lowe AJ, Metcalf DJ, Phinn SR, Russell-Smith J, Thurgate N, Wardle GM (2012) Value of long-term ecological studies. Austral Ecology 37, 745-757.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Magurran AE, Baillie SR, Buckland ST, Dick JMP, Elston DA, Scott EM, Smith RI, Somerfield PJ, Watt AD (2010) Long-term datasets in biodiversity research and monitoring: assessing change in ecological communities through time. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 25, 574-582.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Myers N (2003) Biodiversity hotspots revisited. BioScience 53, 916-917.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, da Fonseca GAB, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403, 853-858.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Pianka ER (1981) Diversity and adaptive radiations of Australian desert lizards. In ‘Ecological biogeography of Australia’. (Ed. A Keast) pp. 1375–1392. (Dr W. Junk: The Hague)

Pianka ER (1986) ‘Ecology and natural history of desert lizards.’ (Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ, USA)

Pianka ER, Pianka HD (1976) Comparative ecology of twelve species of nocturnal lizards (Gekkonidae) in the Western Australian deserts. Copeia 1976, 125-142.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Recher HF, Serventy DL (1991) Long term changes in the relative abundances of birds in Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia. Conservation Biology 5, 90-102.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Sarre S (1995) Size and structure of populations of Oedura reticulata (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) in woodland remnants: implications for the future regional distribution of a currently common species. Australian Journal of Ecology 20, 288-298.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Sarre SD (1998) Demographics and population persistence of Gehyra variegata (Gekkonidae) following habitat fragmentation. Journal of Herpetology 32, 153-162.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Saunders DA, Hobbs RJ, Margules CR (1991) Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation: a review. Conservation Biology 5, 18-32.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Shine R (1984) Ecology of small fossorial Australian snakes of the genera Neelaps and Simoselaps (Serpentes, Elapidae). In ‘Vertebrate ecology and systematics; a tribute to Henry S. Fitch’. (Eds RA Seigel, LE Hunt, L Malaret, NL Zuschlag) pp. 173–183. (Mus. Nat. Hist., Univ. Kansas. Spec. Publ.: Kansas)

Smith GT, Arnold GW, Sarre S, Abensperg-Traun M, Steven DE (1996) The effect of habitat fragmentation and livestock grazing on animal communities in remnants of gimlet Eucalyptus salubris Woodland in the Western Australian Wheatbelt. II. Lizards. Journal of Applied Ecology 33, 1302-1310.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Smyth M, Smith MJ (1968) Obligatory sperm storage in the skink Hemiergis peronii. Science 161, 575-576.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Storr GM, Johnstone RE, Harold G (1978a) Birds of the Northern Swan Coastal Plain W.A. In ‘Faunal studies of the Northern Swan Coastal Plain – a consideration of past and future changes’. pp. 93–171. (Western Australian Museum Report to Department of Conservation & Environment: WA, Perth)

Storr GM, Harold G, Barron G (1978b) Amphibians and reptiles of the Northern Swan Coastal Plain. In ‘Faunal studies of the Northern Swan Coastal Plain – a consideration of past and future changes’. pp. 172–203. (Western Australian Museum Report to Department of Conservation & Environment: WA, Perth)

Strahan N, How RA, Dell J (1998) Reproduction and diet in four species of burrowing snakes (Simoselaps spp.) from southwestern Western Australia. Records Western Australian Museum 19, 57-63.
| Google Scholar |

Thompson GG, Thompson SA (2020) A comparison of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) vertebrate fauna survey with a post-approval fauna salvage program: consequences of not adhering to EIA survey guidelines, a Western Australian example. Pacific Conservation Biology 26, 412-419.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Thompson GG, Thompson SA (2024) Compliance is not necessarily good science. The Environmental Protection Authority’s vertebrate fauna survey guidelines should be revised. Pacific Conservation Biology 30, PC23040.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Western Australian Government (2018) Standard operating procedures: dry pitfall trapping for vertebrates. pp. 1–15. Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, Fauna.

Western Australian Museum (1978) Faunal studies of the Northern Swan Coastal Plain – a consideration of past and future changes. Western Australian Museum Report to Department of Conservation & Environment, Perth, WA.

Western Australian Museum (2023) Checklist of the Terrestrial Vertebrate Fauna of Western Australia. Available at https://museum.wa.gov.au/research/departments/terrestrial-zoology/checklist-terrestrial-vertebrate-fauna-western-australia

White ER (2019) Minimum time required to detect population trends: the need for long-term monitoring programs. BioScience 69, 40-46.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |