Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Australian Journal of Zoology Australian Journal of Zoology Society
Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > ZO > ZO09076
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 58(2)

Home ranges of, and habitat use by, the grassland earless dragon (Tympanocryptis pinguicolla) in remnant native grasslands near Canberra

Toni A. Stevens A C , Murray C. Evans B , William S. Osborne A and Stephen D. Sarre A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

B Research and Planning Unit, ACT Parks, Conservation and Lands, GPO Box 158, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: stevens@aerg.canberra.edu.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 58(2) 76-84 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO09076
Submitted: 11 July 2009  Accepted: 6 March 2010   Published: 20 May 2010

Abstract

The grassland earless dragon (Tympanocryptis pinguicolla) is a habitat specialist restricted to the highly fragmented native temperate grasslands of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and nearby New South Wales (NSW). These grasslands, which are listed as an endangered ecological community, continue to be affected by a range of processes including development and overgrazing. Although changes to its habitat present a significant threat to the grassland earless dragon, little is known about its spatial and habitat requirements. We used radio-tracking to study the home-range areas and habitat requirements of 10 adult lizards in native grassland adjacent to Canberra, ACT. We found that burrows excavated by arthropods are an important resource for grassland earless dragons, with individuals having one or two home burrows around which they maintained home ranges of between 925 m2 and 4768 m2. Fidelity to these burrows increased with the onset of winter, indicating their importance as over-winter refuge sites. Within the native grasslands, grassland earless dragons were found to use a broad range of grassland structure as habitat. This result contrasts with the prevailing view that these dragons are confined to well drained, minimally disturbed areas, which include large patches of short grass dominated by Austrodanthonia. We conclude that habitat management (i.e. grazing, mowing, burning) for this species should aim to retain structural heterogeneity of native grasslands rather than impose a uniform structure.


Acknowledgements

The authors thank fellow researcher Wendy Dimond for assisting us in this work and for providing advice and comments on earlier drafts of this paper. We also thank Art Langston for production of the grassland patchiness figure, David Pederson for statistical advice, Mark Dunford for the ACT grassland distribution map, and the many volunteers who assisted with fieldwork. Finally, thank you to the former leaseholder, Mr C. Campbell, who provided information on the history of grassland management at the study site. This project was jointly funded by the University of Canberra and Environment ACT and all aspects of this study were conducted under the University of Canberra’s Animal Ethics permit number CEAE 05/11. Trapping was also conducted under an Environment ACT licence to trap and release LT2006241.


References

ACT Government (2005). A vision splendid of the grassy plains extended: ACT lowland grassland conservation strategy. Action plan No. 28. Arts, Heritage and Environment, Canberra.

Aebischer, N. J. , Robertson, P. A. , and Kenward, R. E. (1993). Compositional analysis of habitat use from animal radio-tracking data. Ecology 74, 1313–1325.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Benson K. A. (1999). Resource use and selection by the grassland earless dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla: microhabitat and diet. App.Sci.(Honours) Thesis, University of Canberra.

Brereton R. , and Backhouse G. (1993). Southern lined earless dragon. Action statement No. 35. Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne.

Burgman M. A. , and Lindenmayer D. B. (1998). ‘Conservation Biology for the Australian Environment.’ (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)

Chambers, B. Q. , and Samways, M. J. (1998). Grasshopper response to a 40-year experimental burning and mowing regime, with recommendations for invertebrate conservation management. Biodiversity and Conservation 7, 985–1012.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Eddy D. A. (2002). ‘Managing Native Grassland. A Guide to Management for Conservation, Production and Landscape Protection.’ (WWF Australia: Sydney.)

Fair, W. S. , and Henke, S. E. (1999). Movements, home ranges and survival of Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum). Journal of Herpetology 33, 517–525.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Fletcher D. , Evans M. , Smith W. , and Corrigan T. (2009). A comparison of trap designs for the detection of grassland earless dragons Tympanocryptis pinguicolla. Unpublished Report 2009/01. ACT Parks Conservation and Lands, Canberra.

Hooge P. N. , and Eichenlaub B. (2000). ‘Animal Movement Extension to Arcview Version 2.0.’ (US Geological Survey: Anchorage, AK.)

Hutchinson, K. J. , and King, K. L. (1980). The effects of sheep stocking level on invertebrate abundance, biomass and energy-utilization in a temperate, sown grassland. Journal of Applied Ecology 17, 369–387.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Kenward R. E. (2001). ‘A Manual for Wildlife Radio Tagging.’ (Academic Press: San Diego, CA.)

Kirkpatrick J. B. , McDougall K. , and Hyde M. K. (1995). ‘Australia’s Most Threatened Ecosystem.’ (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)

Koenig, J. , Shine, R. , and Shea, G. (2001). The ecology of an Australian reptile icon: how do blue-tongued lizards (Tiliqua scincoides) survive in suburbia? Wildlife Research 28, 214–227.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Langston A. C. (1996). The ecology and distribution of Tympanocryptis lineata pinguicolla (southern lined earless dragon) in the Australian Capital Territory and adjacent sub-region. Unpublished Report. Environment ACT, Canberra.

Lettink, M. , and Seddon, P. (2007). Influence of microhabitat factors on capture rates of lizards in a coastal New Zealand environment. Journal of Herpetology 41, 187–196.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Nelson L. (2004). Thermal ecology and implications for life history variation in Tympanocryptis pinguicolla (grassland earless dragon). Ph.D. Thesis, The Australian National University, Canberra.

Osborne, W. S. , Kukolic, K. , Davis, M. S. , and Blackburn, R. (1993). Recent records of the earless dragon Tympanocryptis lineata pinguicolla in the Canberra region and a description of its habitat. Herpetofauna 23, 16–25.
Ott P. , and Hovey F. (1997). ‘bycomp.sas.’ (British Columbia Forest Service: British Columbia, Canada.)

Perry, G. , and Garland, T. (2002). Lizard home ranges revisited: effects of sex, body size, diet, habitat, and phylogeny. Ecology 83, 1870–1885.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Robertson P. , and Cooper P. (2000). Recovery plan for the grassland earless dragon (Tympanocryptis pinguicolla). Unpublished report. Environment Australia, Canberra.

Rose, B. (1982). Lizard home ranges: methodology and functions. Journal of Herpetology 16, 253–269.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | White G. C. , and Garrott R. A. (1990). ‘Analysis of Wildlife Radio Tracking Data.’ (Academic Press: San Diego, CA.)

Whitford, W. G. , and Bryant, M. (1979). Behavior of a predator and its prey: the horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) and harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex spp.). Ecology 60, 686–694.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Worton, B. J. (1989). Kernel methods for estimating the utilization distribution in home-range studies. Ecology 70, 164–168.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |